


Why'd You Come In Here (Lookin' Like That)

by Bootsncatz (bootsncatz)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reality Show, F/F, F/M, Gen, I got you fam, In chapter 9, Smut, also more smut, if that's all you're looking for, in chapter 11, you dirty little birds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-05-21 22:06:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 85,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14923691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bootsncatz/pseuds/Bootsncatz
Summary: Waverly is drowning in student debt, can't find a good date to save her life and wants something different out of her life. When Chrissy approaches her to be on 'The Bachelorette', she takes it as her chance to do something adventurous, find some financial stability and maybe find love along the way. But what she didn't realize is that the owner of the ranch they're staying on, Nicole Haught, would be an unlikely contender for her heart.





	1. Waiting' for the Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Here is my next venture into a multi-chapter fic. Based on a prompt that my wonderfully imaginative friend [Kimby](https://twitter.com/kimbyinprogress) gave me. Basically, what if Waverly was the Bachelorette but fell in love with someone not on the show instead? That someone of course being Nicole. Because duh. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

Waverly used the tab to peel open the thick cardboard envelope and peered inside. There, nestled in the package, she saw what she had been working towards for four years. Four years, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars of debt, and countless sleepless nights later and there it was. Her diploma. Waverly pulled it carefully from the envelope, the paper flimsy in her hands.

There was that swell of pride in her chest upon seeing her diplomna, but also something that felt a lot like...disappointment? Sure, the graduation ceremony and everything was nice. But receiving the diploma in the mail was a bit anticlimactic at best.

“Welp,” she said as her eyes shot into her hairline, “There it is, Waverly, all your hard work. Right. In. Your. Hands.”

She curled the corner a little bit just to feel it bend under her finger. With a sigh, Waverly slipped the diploma back into the envelope and set it on the kitchen table. She quickly flipped through the other mail but saw nothing of interest so she tossed it onto the table with her diploma. Specifically, there was no mail from the prestigious scholarship fund she was waiting on. Whether or not she got it meant whether or not she was going to Grad school.

Everything else was in place. She’d gotten accepted to her dream school, already had an internship lined up...the only thing she needed was that scholarship for everything to be just perfect. 

“Hey, baby girl,” Wynonna groaned as she padded down the stairs, her socked feet thumping as they went. Wynonna trudged up the Waverly and kissed the side of her head before shuffling her way towards the coffee maker. “What ‘ave you got planned for today?”

“Besides trying not to think why I haven’t heard from the scholarship people yet?” Waverly sighed, watching as Wynonna poured herself a cup of coffee. “I’m just going to get coffee with Chrissy while she’s in town.”

“Mm, before she goes back to whatever her new fancy job is?” Wynonna said before sitting down at the table.

“Yeah. Apparently she got a big promotion and wants to tell me all about it,” Waverly said with a shrug. Waverly let herself dwell on the twinge of jealousy that Chrissy already had a great job and had avoided college all together. Chrissy was in the entertainment business, something that one could argue didn’t need a college degree for. Waverly knew for a fact there was no way she was getting a job as a researcher without as many degrees as she could manage to get. So even if it was hard to not compare herself to Chrissy...she tried not to.

Wynonna leaned over the mug as if to let the steam from the coffee warm her face. “See if she’ll put my mug on a tv show,” Wynonna said with a wry smile, “Wynonna Earp, Bounty Hunter. It’s got a ring to it.”

Waverly raised an eyebrow at her sister. “You’re telling me you want to be on television?”

Wynonna frowned in thought for a moment before shaking her head. “You’re right. The world isn’t ready for me.”

“Clearly.”

Waverly’s phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket only to see that it was a notification from the dating app she had been using for the month she’d been back in Purgatory. It seemed like a stretch since she was pretty sure she had dated the only interesting people in Purgatory in high school...but she figured she’d give it a try. It was a decision she was quickly regretting.

_Pete: Hey, wanna get dinner tonight? There’s a new pho place it town. It’ll be a...hot date. ;)_

Waverly rolled her eyes and tried to think of a response. 

“Wha’s that?” Wynonna asked already grabbing the leg of Waverly’s chair and pulling her close so that they were side by side. Wynonna leaned over Waverly’s shoulder to read the message. “Ugh, gross. Pete York? Come on, baby girl, you can do better than that.”

“I’m just going on one date,” Waverly said defensively, “It doesn’t mean anything. I’m just...bored and have exhausted all other possibilities. There aren’t many dating options in a small town, you know.”

“Don’t I,” Wynonna muttered to herself as she took a long sip of her coffee.

“Plus, you never know,” Waverly said with a shrug, “He could be a perfect gentleman.”

“Famous last words,” Wynonna said with a smirk. Waverly couldn’t help but agree.

***

“Hey, Waverly,” Beth said almost breathlessly from behind the register. Waverly blinked at her a moment, her brain connecting the dots even if Beth seemed wildly out of place in an apron and behind a counter.

“Oh, hi,” Waverly said with a polite smile to cover up her shock, “I-...what are you doing here?”

“I work here now,” Beth said, “It’s part of the whole...getting our parent’s inheritance thing. We have to work a real job for like...a year.” Beth shrugged. “I figured it couldn’t be _that_ hard to work at a coffee shop.”

Waverly’s smile started to feel strained as she kept her internal commentary to herself. “Um...how long have you been working here?”

Beth looked at the clock. “Four hours!”

“Right,” Waverly said tucking some hair behind her ear. “Can I get a green tea please?”

“Sure!” Beth said staring at the register for a beat too long before punching something in. She took her time writing the instructions on the cup and Waverly stood there with her cash out, waiting for Beth to take it. When she finally did, Waverly let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

“So,” Beth started as she slowly counted out Waverly’s change, “are you in town for good?”

Waverly prickled at the thought. 

_For good._

In other words, had she given up on the bigger world outside of Purgatory and returned back to the comfort of her small town? Like a baby trying to crawl back into the womb? 

“Um, no,” Waverly said after a moment, not adding on that she at least hoped the sentiment was true. “Just...until I start my Master’s program.”

“Well, while you’re in town would you want to...go to dinner again?” Beth asked as she handed Waverly back her change. 

Waverly just stood there, palm up to cradle the crumpled bills and coins, and thought about the last time she and Beth went to dinner. It was when Waverly was back home on break during Christmas. She knew that Beth had a small crush on her since high school and admittedly Waverly had had one on her too. But being in college...high school crushes were the sort of thing that got pushed to the back of her mind. She gave it a try anyways and soon realized why her crush never blossomed into anything more.

Beth, for all her good intentions, never had experienced a day of hard work in her life. She was the definition of blessed. Waverly had had more than enough of her own tragedies in her life and they just couldn’t find anything to relate to. Except maybe being attracted to the fairer sex in a town that still thought Ellen was progressive. So when Beth asked her on a second date...Waverly quickly said no and blamed it on the fact that she was leaving for school again soon. An excuse she could no longer hide under.

“Oh,” Waverly finally managed, her mind working a thousand miles a minute for an excuse. “Well, you see, I’m really busy right now.” Waverly smiled politely but felt her stomach clench at Beth’s crestfallen look so she quickly recovered. “But text me next week and maybe we can set something up?”

Beth practically beamed and Waverly dumped her change in the tip jar. Beth was the last person that needed it, but it was the least Waverly could do knowing she was going to blow Beth off the next time she texted too. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Beth said as she took Waverly’s finished tea from her coworker and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” Waverly smiled before turning around and heading to the table in the corner where Chrissy was waiting for her. She let out a small breath of relief as she slid into the table.

“Beth hit on you again?” Chrissy asked with an amused tilt to her lips. 

Waverly gave her a look. “She’s very nice.”

“Just keeping your one female option in town open?” Chrissy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Waverly said taking the lid off of her tea so it could cool. “I just feel bad saying no. And, if you must know, I have a date tomorrow.”

“Oo, with who?”

“Pete.”

“York?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh.”

“He’s not _that_ bad,” Waverly insisted. “Between you and Wynonna you’d think he was the biggest loser in town.”

“No, his brother is,” Chrissy teased.

Waverly rolled her eyes goodnaturedly and leaned back in her seat. “Enough about my non-existent love life. Tell me about your new exciting job.”

Chrissy got a sparkle in her eyes that Waverly knew all too well. It reminded her of the time that Chrissy convinced Waverly to try out for the cheer team “for fun” and she ended up a cheerleader for all four years of high school.

“Funny enough, this kind of relates to your non-existent love life,” Chrissy said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Waverly was already worried.

“O...kay,” Waverly drew out as she played with the string of her tea bag.

“Well, you know that lady I was interning for?” Chrissy asked.

“The producer?” Waverly asked blowing on her tea.

Chrissy nodded. “Well, she’s liked what I’ve been doing lately so she’s giving me some producing credits on her next project.”

“That’s amazing!” Waverly gasped, reaching out to squeeze her best friend’s hand. “What’s the project.”

“ _The Bachelorette_ ,” Chrissy said as she leaned forward like she was telling a dirty secret. “Are you ready for the best part?”

“What?” Waverly asked as she took a sip of her tea.

“I want you to be the bachelorette!”

Waverly choked, tea sputtering out of her nose and dribbling down onto her shirt. She would be embarrassed if she wasn’t entirely sure she wasn’t dying at the moment. Her throat burned and tears formed in her eyes as she caught her breath. Chrissy made a move to pat on her back but Waverly waved her away.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Waverly coughed. She put her hand on her chest as she got her breath back. “I’m sorry,” she blinked, shaking her head, “I must have misheard you. You want me to be on your television show?”

“Yes.”

_“The Bachelorette?”_

“Right again.”

“Chrissy. No,” Waverly said firmly.

Chrissy looked genuinely shocked as she searched for words. “What? Why?”

Waverly blinked at her friend and wondered if she had done one too many of the drugs rumored to be around the reality tv world. 

“Why?” Waverly said with a single chuckle, “Chrissy its...its _me_. They’re not looking for girls like...me!”

“Exactly! It’s _you_ ,” Chrissy said with a smile, “You’re Waverly Earp! Great great great granddaughter of Wyatt Earp. Small town girl with a Hollywood smile. Head cheerleader and valedictorian. Voted the nicest person in Purgatory and dreams of bigger horizons.”

Waverly just looked at Chrissy for a moment. “I-...did you rehearse that?”

“No. Well...yes. It was how I pitched you to my boss,” Chrissy shrugged. 

“How you pitched me-“ Waverly scoffed. “I’m not a baseball, Chrissy!”

Chrissy shook her head sympathetically, her voice taking that lilt that people sometimes got when they were being both kind and condescending. “That metaphor does not track at all, sweetie.”

“My point still stands,” Waverly insisted, “Why would you pitch me to your boss?”

“You’re the perfect candidate,” Chrissy said as she sat up a little straighter. “They’re looking for someone new this season. Someone ‘real’.” Chrissy made air quotes and rolled her eyes. “Think about it. Everyone loves you, Waverly. That’s half the battle of finding the perfect contestant. You have that that…” she waved her hands around searching for the perfect word. “ _Pizazz_.”

Waverly couldn’t help but snort into her tea. “Is that one of your fancy Hollywood terms?”

Chrissy raised an eyebrow at Waverly but she could see the smile in her eyes. She leaned forward, elbows on the table like she used to do in high school when she had a particularly good piece of gossip. “Come on, Waves. It’ll be fun!”

She sighed as she lowered her cup down to the table again. “I don’t know, Chrissy,” she said, “I mean...isn’t the whole thing a scam anyways?”

Chrissy shrugged. “No more than those stupid dating apps you hide behind to pretend you’re actually putting yourself out there.”

“I resent that,” Waverly said resting her chin in her palm and elbow on the table. “I’ve been busy. The world is so much easier when it’s just...in the palm of your hand like that.”

“I know, trust me,” Chrissy said, “But this is the perfect opportunity to get out there a little bit! Have an adventure. Do something only so many people can say they’ve done.”

Waverly had to admit, Chrissy knew how to sell things to her. She always had. It had led to some of her best worst decisions ever. But today was not going to end in one of those decisions.

“No.” Waverly took another long sip of her tea. “I don’t want my life out there in the world. Wynonna’s life. She has a dangerous job, it might put her at risk.”

“Waverly, I love you. But all I’m hearing are excuses,” Chrissy said stirring her drink with her straw. “We would only put as much of your life out there as you wanted. It would be all fluff pieces and nothing super crazy. We could lie about what Wynonna did. We’d...probably have to actually.”

“What...what else could she be?” Waverly asked. “I can’t imagine her as anything else.”

“I don’t know like...a bartender? A...banker?”

Waverly couldn’t help but snort in laughter.

“Let me put it this way,” Chrissy said as she reached across and covered Waverly’s hand with her own. “Best case scenario, you meet the love of your life.”

Waverly snorted again and Chrissy shot her a look.

“Worst case scenario, you...don’t. But at the end of six weeks, you got to stay in a beautiful vacation spot, have fancy dinners, flirt with a bunch of cute guys and make more in a few weeks than you usually make in a year.”

Waverly’s ears perked up a little bit and she leaned forward. “Um, excuse me, just how much does this pay?”

Chrissy’s smile curled slowly up her cheeks. “You get one hundred thousand dollars.”

If Waverly had been drinking, she would have choked again.

“In six weeks?”

Chrissy nodded. Waverly could see herself paying off so many loans. The need for any scholarships dwindling away...Waverly wondered what that kind of freedom tasted like.

Waverly sighed and shook her head, flattening her hand on the table in a final way. “No. I really can’t. Thank you, Chrissy, really. But...I can’t. It’s just...too weird and plus you know the whole...liking girls too thing.”

Chrissy leaned back in her seat. “I don’t have to tell them until Monday. Think about it, okay?”

“Fine, yes,” Waverly said with no intention of actually considering it. But she could pretend if it made Chrissy feel better.

“Thank you,” Chrissy said with a smile, “Now, tell me all about _college_.”

***

Waverly put the finishing touches on her makeup, dropping the brush into her bag. She looked in the mirror of her vanity to see Wynonna laying on her bed, head hanging off the side as she played with her phone. 

“I can’t believe you’d rather go on bad dates for free when you could be going on bad dates for money,” Wynonna said flatly.

Waverly turned in the chair to look at her sister. “Yes. Except this bad date won’t be broadcast across the nation for everyone to see.”

“For a hundred thousand dollars I would go on the date _and_ blow the guy in a fucking nun outfit,” Wynonna said just as flatly.

“Nonna!” Waverly said with a tint to her cheeks and a curl to her lips. “Come on.”

“Just being honest. Forgive me,” Wynonna said sarcastically.

There was the honk of a car horn from the driveway and Waverly cringed. Wynonna just smirked widely.

“You’re carriage is here, princess.”

“Screw you,” Waverly said lightly as she stood up and grabbed her purse from the bed. “I’m going to go out, have free dinner and a good time. Have fun here, Nonna.”

Wynonna wiggled her eyebrows. “I have a _ménage à trois_ planned with me, a bottle of whiskey and the home shopping network.”

“Please don’t buy anymore tupperware,” Waverly warned as she took one last look at her hair in the mirror. “We’ve already run out of room in the cabinets.”

“No promises!” Wynonna yelled as Waverly started down the stairs. Waverly walked out of the Homestead, squinting as Pete’s headlights blinded her. She waved, hoping he would turn them off, but he just honked a couple more times.

Waverly took a deep breath as she locked the door, jaw tight. It was definitely going to be an interesting night.

***

“Get it?”

Pete grinned widely at Waverly from across the table, the remnants of something leafy in his left canine. His pudgy finger tapped the title at the top of the menu.

_Let’s Pho_

Waverly forced a small smile and nodded curtly. “Yep.”

“Let’s pho? Like let’s fuc-”

“Yep!” Waverly interrupted, eyes down on the menu as she pretended to read it. She subtly looked at her watch as she did so. Twenty minutes in. A typical first date lasted an average of ninety two minutes. About one fifth through. Great.

***

Waverly woke up the next morning later than she had meant to. After her date with Pete, Waverly came home, split Wynonna’s bottle of whiskey, and talked her out of buying garden gnomes that doubled as sprinklers.

She stumbled into bed at some unknown time, only managing to strip off her shirt and skirt before collapsing into the sheets. She woke up with a headache pressing behind her eyes, mouth dry. 

“Waves!” Wynonna called from downstairs. “You got something official looking!”

Waverly jolted from her bed, sheets getting tangled in her legs and making her crash to the floor. 

“Fuck.”

“Don’t kill yourself!” Wynonna growled.

Waverly wrapped her sheet around herself and shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen. Wynonna waved the envelope over her head, eyebrow raised at Waverly. 

“Hungover? Thought college would have you trained better than this, baby girl,” Wynonna said as Waverly snatched the envelope from her hand.

“You’d think being an _Earp_ would train me better than that.”

“Fair enough.”

Waverly sat at the kitchen table and held the envelope between her palms. It was from the scholarship foundation. Her stomach turned as she looked at the inconspicuous white envelope. An envelope that held so many of her future plans in the balance. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing.

“You gonna open it?” Wynonna asked as she poured some whiskey into her coffee and Waverly’s tea. Waverly sighed and slipped her finger under the flap, wiggling it a little bit so that the glue came just the slightest bit undone. Slowly, she ran her finger along the envelope to break the seal. Wynonna had her tea in front of her and was sitting down by the time Waverly had it open. Still she stared at it, the white paper barely visible in the envelope. She tried to read some of the words through the back of the paper but got nothing.

Waverly took a deep breath and slid the paper from the envelope, unfolding it deliberately as she went. She licked her lips and took a breath before reading the first line. Her stomach was in knots and she was sure she might barf.

_Dear Ms. Earp,_

_Thank you for your submission to the J. G. Hubbard Scholarship Foundation. We thoroughly enjoyed your paper, but at this time we cannot offer you-_

Waverly folded the paper back up and set it in the middle of the table, hazel eyes meeting Wynonna’s expectant ones. Any amount of confidence or hope she had quickly deflated.

“I didn’t get it,” Waverly said with a forced smile and a small chuckle.

“Bastards!” Wynonna said, snatching the letter off the table as if she had to double check to make sure Waverly was right. “You’re too good for them anyways, baby girl.”

Waverly shook her head, arms crossed in front of her chest. “I’m not too good for anyone. Especially people trying to give me money.”

She groaned and slumped forward in her chair, arms and chin on the table.

“What do I do now?” she groaned. She sat up just long enough to take a big sip of her tea that seemed like mostly whiskey.

“I mean...you don’t _need_ this, right?” Wynonna asked.

Waverly scoffed. “It’s the only way I can go to grad school, Wynonna. And they need my first check like...yesterday!” She sighed and rested her forehead on the table, the wood muffling her words. “I’m just gonna be stuck here forever with a Bachelor’s degree.”

“What if I take some extra bounties?” Wynonna offered , “I can do some of the crazy out of state ones that pay out the ass. That should help.”

Waverly shook her head. “That’s very sweet, but no, Nonna. It’s fine I’ll just...I’ll figure it out. I might just have to...work in town until I can save up some money.”

Wynonna tapped on the table, nose scrunched up. “I have a solution but you’re not gonna like it.”

She squinted at her sister. “What’s that?”

“Chrissy just basically offered you a hundred thousand dollars,” Wynonna said cautiously. “For just being you and hanging out with beefcakes for six weeks.”

In all the drama of the day, Waverly had basically forgotten about the offer. She chewed on her lip, staring at Wynonna but not looking at her. It would be...for all intents and purposes, easy money. The offer was looking more and more tempting as she thought about it. And she couldn’t lie anymore and pretend that she was doing great with the whole...dating on her own thing.

Waverly looked up at Wynonna who had an eyebrow raised, a small smirk on her face. Was she really considering this? Was she really willing to become a reality tv personality to help pay for school? And maybe Chrissy had a point...maybe she’d end up meeting someone that she really liked. The whole premise was to get married at the end of the show but she paid enough attention to pop culture to know that the two contestants almost never actually ended up getting married in the end…

“We wouldn’t be able to talk for six weeks,” Waverly said. 

Wynonna shrugged. “Like a mini vacation,” she teased.

“They’d want to talk to you.”

“I can be very charming.”

“You might have to lie about your profession.”

“What’s new?”

Waverly sighed and Wynonna smiled at her. “Baby girl...don’t do anything you don’t want to do. But...it could be a good opportunity.”

Waverly put her forehead on the table and let out some sort of indescribable sound that could only be compared to a cow in pain. Wynonna laughed and patted the top of Waverly’s head sympathetically.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Waverly grumbled. Wynonna just laughed again.

***

“Hey, Superstar,” Rosita smirked as Waverly slipped behind the bar at Shorty’s. Waverly rolled her eyes at her friend.

“Very funny,” she said with her hand on her hip.

Rosita shrugged, “It’s true. The only thing people have been able to talk about at all these days is that fancy camera crew in town.”

“Except no one knows it’s for me,” Waverly said pointedly, a raise of her eyebrows.

“Not yet,” Rosita said as she finished wiping down the bar and moved on to some of the tables before they opened. “When do you film all your stuff?”

Waverly inspected the beer taps and shook her head. “I talked to the producer yesterday, Chrissy’s boss. Something...Lucado. She’s kinda scary.”

“Aren’t producers supposed to be?”

“You have a point.”

Suddenly, the door to Shorty’s burst open and Chrissy entered, followed by a few bored looking men. Chrissy made a beeline for the bar while the others looked around with seemingly morbid fascination. Waverly looked down self consciously at her Shorty’s shirt and daisy dukes, running a hand through her hair as she plucked at the hem of her shorts.

Waverly frowned, “Hey, Chrissy.” She watched as one of the men inspected the jukebox. “I wasn’t expecting you today. Can I get you anything?”

“We’re just stopping by,” Chrissy said sitting at the bar, waving off Waverly’s offer. “I just wanted to tell you that they’re ready to sign contracts tonight. The boys here are just taking a look at the place for your shoot later.”

“My...shoot?” Waverly asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah! You know the whole song and dance. We follow you around, get a glimpse of your life, talk to your friends, talk about why you want to be on the show. That kinda thing.”

“Right,” Waverly sighed. Rosita sidled up to her and leaned over the bar towards Chrissy.

“Does that mean I get to be in it?” Rosita said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

Chrissy smiled. “Yes. You and Wynonna and...who are your other friends, Waves?”

Waverly blushed, eyes focused on two men as they frowned and pointed at the lights hanging from the ceiling. 

“Besides you?” Waverly asked with a smile. Chrissy shrugged.

“You have other friends, right?”

“I mean...yes?” Waverly’s mind strained to think of people that would go on camera for her. That knew her well enough to talk about her on television. Being the most popular girl in Purgatory didn’t _really_ mean having friends. Apparently. “I have Rosita and...Doc and Dolls.”

“Your sister’s work partners?” Chrissy said with a tilt of her head. “Slash boy toys?”

“...Yes?” Waverly drew out, squinting at Chrissy as she tried to read her mind.

Chrissy nodded. “That’ll work.” She typed something on her phone as Waverly breathed a sigh of relief. “Also, they want to take you to dinner tonight to sign those contracts. In the city. A car will pick you up at six.”

Waverly felt her nerves light anew. Nothing seemed real yet. Even with two guys ignoring her and talking about the lighting in Shorty’s. It all still felt so...fake. Like something out of a dream. Or nightmare. She wasn’t sure yet.

“O-okay,” Waverly said as a few of their early customers came in. “A car? Really?”

Chrissy smirked, “The perks are just starting, Waves. Live it up. See you tonight!”

With a final wave, Chrissy hopped off her seat and headed back out of Shorty’s, the two men following her and taking some pictures of the place with their phones. They still looked concerned. Waverly sighed, blowing some hair back from her face.

“Live. It. Up,” she repeated under her breath, popping the last letter as she spoke. She wasn’t sure if she was equipped to ‘live it up’ like Chrissy said. She hoped she could be.

***

“You’re going where?” Wynonna practically gasped.

“ _Petit Trois_.” Waverly pulled her hair back into a neat bun. “In the city.”

“I know where Petite Tross is-”

“ _Petit Trois_ ,” Waverly corrected with a proper accent.

“Whatever,” Wynonna said waving off her sister’s words and sitting in her desk chair. “Can you bring me back something? Just a meatball even?”

Waverly frowned and looked over at her sister as she smoothed her hair into place. “Since when do you care about fancy restaurants?”

“This place is supposed to be the shit,” Wynonna said, “I saw it on the _Travel Channel_.”

“Do you ever think you watch too much television?” Waverly teased, smiling..

Wynonna rolled her eyes. “Please. Just...one meatball. I just wanna taste luxury for once.”

“Fine. I’ll try.”

“You _will._ ”

“I _will_ try.”

“Best sister ever.”

***

Waverly wondered about the legal issues behind signing a contract after she had a glass of wine. Of very _expensive_ wine that Waverly had ordered in perfect French. Much to the delight of her dinner mates. Throughout dinner, every time Waverly made one of the three producers laugh or smile, Chrissy would shoot her a little wink or thumbs up. Like she was going out of her way to impress them.

Other than Lucado, Chrissy’s direct boss and seemingly the leader of the pack, the two other producers were easily interchangeable men whose names Waverly almost immediately forgot. They also seemed the most easily amused by Waverly’s lame jokes and small town charm. She felt a little like an animal in a zoo as the big city folk watched her in amazement, but it wasn’t something she hadn’t grown accustomed to in college. It was like as soon as someone learned she was from a small town they suddenly had a thousand questions for her. Often they would tiptoe around asking if she’d ever dated any relatives. Sometimes, they’d just dive right in.

“So, here are the logistics,” Lucado said as she daintily dabbed at the corners of her mouth with the cloth napkin on her lap. The sudden change of subject from Waverly’s education to business gave her a bit of whiplash, but she recovered quickly. “You’d be in front of the cameras for six weeks, but contracts extend all the way through the airing of the show and the live show at the end of filming. After you’re done filming, you’re obligated to stay in...isolation for a little bit until the finale is done airing.”

Waverly frowned. “Um...why?”

“Just to make sure that it’s not accidently leaked who you chose,” Lucado said matter-of-factly. “Oh and you can’t see your new fiance until the live show either.”

“I-...okay,” Waverly said as Lucado handed her the contract. She looked down at it and flipped through a few pages. Chrissy had snuck her a copy the night before and Waverly had already spent the night before pouring over it. She pretended to look at it carefully as she took a slow, disinterested sip of her wine. She could practically feel the men across the table leaning forward, holding their breath until the pen hit paper. Lucado on the other hand was making a show of being just as disinterested as she folded her napkin on her lap.

Waverly nodded as she slowly turned to the last page of the contract. The waiter came by to collect her plate and she stopped him with a polite hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry,” she said with the easy smile that always got her forgiven before she even asked a favor. “Can you um...wrap up this one meatball please?”

She blushed but kept her smile in place as the waiter blinked at her. “This one meatball?”

“Yes, please. It’s um...a sister thing,” she said releasing the waiter’s arm and making her smile even brighter. 

“Of course, ma’am,” he said with a curt nod before taking her plate and scuttling away.

She threw an apologetic smile across the table and shrugged. “My sister makes...odd requests.”

“We can work with that,” Lucado said with a small smile. “Eccentricities make for good television.”

“And Earps are not short on eccentricity,” Waverly said picking up the pen and clicking it open. She initialed in all the highlighted places, pausing briefly over the final signature at the bottom. It felt so...final. Like jumping off of a ledge. She thought of Wynonna and how supportive she was of the whole thing. Gus had been too, telling Waverly she always thought she had the face for television. Even more tempting was the big paycheck at the end of the tunnel. The one that would practically erase her fears.

She pressed her pen to the paper and signed quickly, adding an extra flourish to the ‘p’ at the end. Waverly could practically feel Chrissy’s excitement from across the table and she smiled at her best friend. Chrissy beamed back. 

“Well then,” Lucado said as Waverly handed her back the contract, stiff smile on her face, “I guess we have our newest Bachelorette!”

Waverly felt her stomach clench at the thought, nerves suddenly taking over. She was the new Bachelorette. She was going to be on television. A public persona for the world to pick apart. Suddenly she felt sick. 

But she forced a smile and raised her wine glass when they asked for a toast. She could pretend. She had a feeling she was going to be doing a lot of that in the future.

***

“Alright, last question, Ms. Earp. Have you ridden horses before? Are you comfortable on them?” the kind man that had been asking her questions for what felt like far too long asked with a smile. She couldn’t remember his name. Tony? Maybe it was Tony. She had been introduced to so many people the past couple of days since she signed the contract.

Waverly bit on her lip and thought of the last time she was on a horse. She was pretty sure she was ten and the horse threw her, putting an abrupt end to her asking Curtis to teach her to ride. But she was a small town cowgirl...at least, that was the persona they were going for. 

“Yeah!” Waverly said with a smile. “Giddy up!”

She blushed and wondered what had caused her to add that unfortunate exclamation in the end. Rosie snorted behind her even though she was on the other side of the bar. 

Tony wrote something down on his clipboard and smiled. “That’s all for now, Waverly. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Waverly kept her smile in place until he left Shorty’s. As soon as the door closed, she slumped and rested her head on her arm. Rosita came up behind her and rubbed her back with a sympathetic smile.

“You okay?” Rosita asked.

“I’m just nervous,” Waverly said as she relaxed into her friend’s touch. “I don’t know what to expect.”

Rosita set two whiskey glasses on the table and poured both of them a finger of alcohol before leaning on the bar with her elbow. “I have an idea,” she trailed off.

“What’s that?” Waverly said taking the whiskey gratefully.

“Have you ever watched the show?” Rosita asked with a squint.

Waverly shook her head and a slow smile lit up Rosita’s face.

“Want to get wasted tonight and watch a bunch of episodes?”

She thought for a moment and shrugged. Really, nothing could freak her out anymore than she already was. Plus it would be nice to have a few minutes to decompress and spend time with Rosita and Wynonna since she didn’t know when the next time she’d be able to would be. Things had barely gotten started with the show and she could already feel her life getting more and more hectic.

“That would be fun, actually,” Waverly said with a smile. “I have wine. Bring snacks?”

“Done,” Rosita said knocking back her whiskey just as the first customer of the day walked in. Rosita winked at her and went to work. Waverly downed her own whiskey just as Nedley walked in, eyes darting around the bar suspiciously. Despite his odd behaviour, Waverly still smiled at him.

“Can I get you anything, Sheriff?” she asked as he walked up to the bar. He shook his head.

“I’m here on an official capacity today,” he said, gripping his belt. “There have been these tv folk lurking about town and rumor has it, it’s about you.”

Waverly blushed and made a show of zipping her lips shut. “You know I can’t say.” 

Nedley grunted, satisfied none of those “tv folk” were lurking in the bar before his eyes settled on Waverly.

“Do you need a security detail? To keep these people at bay?” he asked. “My daughter says they won’t cause a problem but...I don’t trust someone who spends more than two dollars on a cup of coffee.”

Waverly laughed and shook her head. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, but you’re very sweet for asking,” Waverly said, touched by the gesture.

Nedley nodded gruffly and Waverly reached forward and squeezed his hand in her own. Waverly had known him for what felt like her entire life. Even though he wasn’t a man of many words, she knew that he cared. 

“Chrissy is doing amazing by the way,” Waverly said winking at the Sheriff. “I feel very taken care of.”

A small proud smile crept onto his lips and Waverly squeezed his hand one last time before pulling away. 

“She is, isn’t she?” he said settling into his usual bar stool. “You know...maybe I’ll take a beer after all.”

“Coming right up,” Waverly beamed as she poured him a drink. 

***

“Ugh, this guy is awful,” Waverly groaned as she dumped a scoop of ice cream into her half drunk beer glass. She stretched her legs so that she was spread out on the couch, legs draping over Rosita’s lap. Wynonna was laying on the couch with her head on the opposite side of the couch, legs also on Rosita’s lap. 

Wynonna picked up the remote and fast forwarded through a few minutes of the show before playing again. The Bachelor was making out with a busty blonde girl in a hot tub and they all scoffed, almost in unison. 

“Fake!” Wynonna yelled before tapping Waverly’s thigh with her foot. “Am I gonna have to watch you make out with every dude on the show?”

Waverly scrunched up her nose. “I don’t...think so?”

“Don’t lie, Waves. All those hot babes lined up to wait on you hand and foot? You’re totally going to bang half of them,” Rosita said wiggling her eyebrows, “Make up for all those crazy times you didn’t have in college.”

Waverly blushed and took a took a bite of her ice cream. “I guess we’ll just have to find out.”

Rosita just laughed and they turned back to the television. There was silence for a moment before Rosie turned to Wynonna with a frown.

“What’s the fake job you gave them for the show?”

Wynonna smirked. “Cabbage farmer.”

Waverly laughed so hard beer came out of her nose.

***

Waverly had never felt so poked and prodded in her life. Over the course of a weekend, the production team had made her take an STD test, a psych evaluation and have a physical. Probably the most embarrassing that happened was when she had rambled on to the person giving her the STD test that she hadn’t actually had any sexual encounters for a good six months. Then the day afterwards she had found out that the girl she hooked up with was the TA in one of her classes. 

But that was just the beginning of her Saturday. After that they shipped her off to spend the rest of her day at the spa which she actually enjoyed. It was always nice being primped and walking out afterwards, she actually felt like she could be okay on television. She was feeling good and confident in herself.

She had been given strict instructions on what to pack for the six weeks she was going to be away. It was a bit of a shock when they told her that production would begin in a week and figured she should make sure she had everything she needed. Which apparently included a lot of bathing suits.

“What are you going to be doing this whole time?” Wynonna asked as Waverly threw yet another bathing suit top towards her bed, missing her suitcase entirely. 

“Apparently swimming a lot,” Waverly answered before moving to the other clothes in her closet. “They told me to be prepared for anything. Literally. Chrissy was telling me to have something for every weather scenario.”

“Damn,” Wynonna said tossing the clothes Waverly was throwing her way into her suitcase. “Some of those bitches got to go to the beach. Are you sure I can’t come with you?”

Waverly chuckled. “As much as I would enjoy that, I doubt they’d allow it. They won’t even let me bring more than two books.”

Wynonna gasped dramatically, sarcasm tinting the edges. “How will you survive?”

Waverly made sure that she threw a shirt right at Wynonna’s head.

***

“Turn your head a little towards me and-...wonderful!” 

The photographer snapped away, big lights flashing and blinding Waverly. Her smile was stuck in place, jaw sore from the strain. They had practically sewn her into a gold dress that ended right above her knees, slathered makeup on her and shoved her in front of a backdrop for pictures for their promo shoot.

They had made her take a never ending variety of pictures. Some with one rose, some with two, some with a dozen. She had taken photos with cowboy hats and boots on to play up her “small town cowgirl image”. At one point they even brought out puppies and kittens for her to take pictures with, which she certainly was not going to complain about.

“You’re gorgeous, honey!” the photographer, Antonio, shrieked. Waverly couldn’t help but giggle, a light blush tinting her cheeks that made the clicking of the camera come even faster and Antonio gasp.

A reporter was standing in the wings, taking notes on seemingly everything and asking her questions during her breaks. Lucado and Chrissy sat behind a monitor watching all the pictures as they were being taken. Occasionally Lucado would whisper something to Chrissy or someone else but for the most part they kept out of it. Based on what Chrissy had told her, that was going to change as soon as they started filming, so she was happy for the break while she had one.

“Waverly, you are amazing,” Antonio said finally lowering his camera from his face. “You are going to break so many hearts this season.”

“I don’t know about that. But thank you,” Waverly blushed.

Antonio flung his arms wide and turned back towards Lucado. “See! Look at this! She’s a gem, is she not?”

It just made Waverly blush deeper and a PA shuffled her off to the side to get her makeup retouched. She sat in the makeup chair and let someone fuss over her hair, grateful to be sitting with the heels they had put her in for the shoot.

“So,” the young reporter said as she settled into a chair next to her, “you ready for your big breakout?”

Waverly felt her stomach turn at the thought. Of her as a _breakout_ in any way. Even despite the questions and primping and the photoshoot, it still hadn’t quite hit her that she was going to be on tv. In people’s living rooms every week as they cheered her on to find love week after week. She felt her nerves start anew and she picked at some skin on her thumb nervously.

“I’m excited to meet all the contestants,” Waverly said with a small smile.

“So you’re ready to find love?” the reporter asked with a small smile.

The nerves got a little worse in Waverly’s stomach but they were melting off into a warmth she couldn’t quite describe. Maybe it was...hope? No. She shook it off and shrugged at the reporter.

“You know, I am,” she said with an easy smile, “I’ve spent so much time in school and studying and...I don’t regret it. In anyway. But I just...feel like now is the time. To find love.”

Waverly smiled even wider and the reporter practically sighed. “Thank you for your time, Ms. Earp.”

“Oh, Waverly, please,” Waverly said taking the girl’s hand and shaking it as she got up to leave.

“Waverly, then,” she replied. “The article will be out soon but you’ll probably be filming and not able to read it. But I hope you like it!”

“I’m sure I will. As long as you don’t say what a jerk I am,” Waverly joked. The girl laughed as she walked away and Waverly looked back in the mirror. Article. Huh. Maybe this small town girl could go somewhere after all.

***

Waverly smiled brightly and pointed at the sign that had been hanging above the bar since she was a little girl.

‘Drink Where Wyatt Earp Did’

She did a few more cheesy points and gestures towards the sign as the camera crew filmed her. She was in her typical work uniform, tiny jean cutoffs and her Shorty’s shirt, hair back in a braid. The producers had been very clear about her looking like it was just another day while they were filming. They didn’t want anything crazy or fancy, so that’s what she gave them.

“Good, Waves,” Lucado said. She was sitting at a booth just off to the side of the filming, a small monitor in her hands as she watched the camera feed. “Now we just need some B-roll of you behind the bar. Okay?”

Waverly nodded, grateful to drop her arms and stop gesturing at that stupid sign. That morning had been filled with interview question after interview question. Waverly was sure she had melted under the direct glare of the stage lights. They had done her interview in Shorty’s, just set up a chair and some lights in the middle. They had interviewed Wynonna and Rosita too as part of her “introduction package” as they called it.

“This is where we need people to fall in love with you” Chrissy had said as the makeup team put finishing touches on her face. “And that shouldn’t be too hard.”

Waverly hoped Chrissy was right.

The bar was empty, so Waverly felt a little silly pulling a beer from a tap with no one to give it to. But she did it anyways, crew adjusting and following her as they went.

“Wait,” someone from another monitor called. “We got bogies in the background.”

Waverly looked behind her and saw Wynonna playing on her phone while drinking straight from a whiskey bottle. She rolled her eyes, hand on her hip.

“Nonna,” Waverly said, “You’re in the shot.”

Wynonna looked at Waverly and the camera crew like she’d just noticed they were there. She looked at the booth she was headed towards and pointed at it with a frown.

“But that’s my booth,” Wynonna said flatly.

“You can literally sit anywhere,” Waverly said gesturing towards the empty bar. “Just sit at a different table for like...an hour. A table that’s not right where they’re trying to film.

Wynonna looked scandalized as she sat at the booth. “Excuse you, I am an Earp. And Earps drink wherever they want, baby girl.”

Waverly huffed. “Wynonna! Please.”

“It’s okay, we can adjust,” Lucado said. “Ben, just move the shot to the left a little- and-...there we go. Okay background is clear.”

Waverly let out a long breath and just stared at Wynonna as she stuck her tongue out at her and took a long pull from the bottle. She rolled her shoulders and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear before turning back to the camera.

“Okay,” she said picking up a new beer glass and readying it under a tap, “Let’s do this.”


	2. Pushin' Against Stone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! The response to the first chapter was amazing! Honestly, I'm nervous about this fix because it's kinda different than what I'm used to. So I hope you enjoy! But feel free to tell me you hate it. Thank you for being awesome and reading. <3
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

“I bought you a going away present,” Wynonna said reaching into the plastic grocery bag and fishing around for something. Waverly had just rolled her suitcase to the front door of the Homestead. Chrissy was sending a car to pick her up for the airport which felt a bit weird, but she had been insistent on it even when Waverly said that Wynonna was perfectly capable of driving her.

Waverly raised an eyebrow at her sister, cheeks burning when Wynonna triumphantly pulled out a shiny multi colored box, with a large smile on her face.

“Wynonna-”

“Condom variety pack!” she said proudly, “Even got the economy size-”

“Nonna-”

“Look, it’s got every kind you could ever want,” Wynonna said shoving the box in Waverly’s face. “We got your classic, your ribbed, your extra lube- oh! These are great, the warming lube ones-”

Waverly snatched the box from her sister’s hand and glared at her a moment before her face fell.

“I’m going to miss you,” Waverly pouted. “Even if you do get me inappropriate gifts.”

Wynonna pulled Waverly into her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders in a tight hug. “Baby girl, you’re going to have so much fun. When you come back I need you to tell me everything. Well...not _everything_ -”

“I get it,” Waverly groaned into her sister’s chest, “You think I’m going to have a lot of sex. Very funny.”

“I mean...what’s the point if you don’t?” Wynonna said holding Waverly at arms length. “Just be safe.”

Waverly rolled her eyes and held the box up in front of her. “Obviously.”

Out the front window, she saw a car coming down the path towards the Homestead. She quickly unzipped the suitcase and shoved the box into it before looking back at Wynonna. 

“You be safe too.”

“I always am,” Wynonna said with a wink. “Plus, what kind of trouble could a simple old cabbage farmer like me get into?”

Waverly laughed and hugged Wynonna one last time. 

“Bye.”

“Love you, baby girl.”

“Love you too.”

“Yeah yeah, now get outta here.”

***

This season on The Bachelorette Canada!

Lights flashed across the screen and dissolved into Waverly looking around her shoulder at a photographer taking her picture. She was holding a rose and wearing a short gold dress. The backdrop behind her was bright white and every flash of the lights made it look like she was glowing. The photographer said something off screen and Waverly laughed, eyes crinkling into charming half moons. It cut to more footage of the same photoshoot except Waverly was holding a puppy and blowing it kisses.

The camera cut to an overview of a beautiful ranch at early evening, sun setting in the distance and an elegant house in the foreground. The house was so new and expensive looking that it might have appeared out of place except for the small rustic touches on the exterior such reclaimed wood and antique ranch tools artfully displayed on the porch. As the camera boomed down closer to the horizon, a handsome blonde man appeared and walked towards the camera.

“Hi! My name is Mark Christy. Welcome to season sixteen of _The Bachelorette Canada_. Are you ready to meet your newest Bachelorette? Coming to us from the small town of Purgatory, meet small town girl Waverly Earp!”

Just as Mark smiled at the camera, the picture faded away into a shot of Waverly checking the mailbox in front of the Homestead. The “Earp” on the mailbox was prominent in the frame. 

“Hello, my name is Waverly Earp, I’m twenty-one and-” her voice over started over Waverly at the mailbox, but cut to her interview in Shorty’s, “And...I’m your newest Bachelorette.” Waverly laughed and shook her head. “I can still hardly believe it. It’s unreal to say.”

The camera cut to a wide shot of Purgatory’s main street. Shorty’s was seen on the right along with the Sheriff Department as a train ran along the tracks in the distance. It cut back to Waverly’s interview as she talked.

“I have a degree in Ancient Languages which...does not get you a lot of dates,” Waverly laughed and looked down at her lap in embarrassment. “It was an intense program and I was pretty focused on school so there wasn’t a lot of time for dating, unfortunately. But it was a great experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world, truly. And now...I’m ready to look for love.”

Waverly blushed and shrugged. Everything about her seems enduring even through all the lights and camera lenses. The camera cut to Waverly walking down Main Street and going into Shorty’s, dressed in her usual uniform.

“I grew up in Purgatory which is the quintessential small town. It’s really embarrassing but I was voted the nicest person in town. I got a sash and everything,” the camera showed Waverly laugh in embarrassment before cutting back to Waverly working behind Shorty’s bar. 

“It’s the kind of town where everyone really does know your name and business. If my last name seems familiar, it’s because I’m related to Wyatt Earp of Tombstone fame.” 

There was a shot of Waverly pointing at the “Drink Where Wyatt Earp Did” sign. 

“I actually work in the bar that my great great grandfather used to frequent, so I guess you can say it kind of runs in the family. My family has obviously been in Purgatory awhile,” Waverly said as they showed a shot of her and Wynonna sitting at the bar and going through some old family photos. “I’ve always lived here and I love my small town and my small town folks but I want to get out and see the world. To experience the world.”

There was a pause as the camera lingered on Waverly’s interview shot for a moment. She was looking off camera as tears gathered in her eyes and voice cracked. “My Mom left when I was young and I lost my Dad and oldest sister not long after that. It was...it was hard. Growing up in a small town where everyone knew everything, all your hardships...it was hard to get past that. For a long time people said that the Earps were cursed.”

Waverly sniffled and quickly wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. She offered a watery smile and shrugged. “The curse...they said that the Earps were cursed because they’d never be able to find lasting love. And I’m here to prove them wrong.”

The picture faded out with the music and Waverly sat staring at the iPad in her hands. She looked back up at Chrissy who was beaming at her. 

“So?” Chrissy asked as Waverly handed her back the equipment.

Waverly blinked away her shock and looked up at her best friend. Despite the fact that Waverly had just gotten off of a plane and they were riding side by side in a very expensive looking SUV to the ranch she would call home for the next few weeks, everything had just hit her in that moment. The photo shoots, interviews, wardrobe fittings...all of it just felt like a bizarre dream. But seeing the intro for an entire season of _The Bachelorette_ staring at her? That...that’s when it hit.

“Shit,” Waverly breathed, “It’s all real, isn’t it?”

“You bet your sweet ass it is,” Chrissy said putting the iPad back in her bag. “It’s all real. And it’s only just beginning.”

Waverly let out a long breath and looked out the window as the ranch house came into view in the distance.

“Having doubts?” Chrissy asked softly, her “producer” voice gone as she slipped into“best friend” mode.

Waverly gave her a small smile and shook her head. “No- well...a little. I don’t know,” Waverly sighed, “I guess I just don’t know what to expect. And you know me. I’m a planner.”

Chrissy smiled and squeezed Waverly’s knee reassuringly. “You’re going to be great. You basically just have to sit back, relax and let some hot guys fawn over you. I’ve met all of them and they’re all dreamy.”

“All of them?” Waverly asked biting on her bottom lip. Chrissy nodded slowly, a smile taking over her featured.

“Every. Single. One.”

They put their heads together and giggled like teenagers. Waverly looked out the window and smiled. Suddenly the whole thing didn’t seem so scary after all.

***

When the SUV finally made it to the perimeter fence of the ranch, Waverly took another look outside and took in the house in the distance. Her face was practically pressed to the glass as she looked.

“Wow,” Waverly said, “And the owner just...lets us live there? For six weeks?”

“Yep,” Chrissy said as she typed on her phone. “The owner is actually super nice. She’ll be around and about helping with certain things so don’t be alarmed if you see a rando cowgirl wandering around. Maintaining the place and all that. But she’s kind of weird.”

“Weird how?” Waverly asked turning to her friend.

Chrissy shrugged, “Well, she was very adamant about not being on camera for any reason. Like made us write it into the contract and everything.”

“Maybe she’s shy?” Waverly offered as she took a picture of the house with her phone and sent it off to Wynonna. Chrissy had made a point of telling her that all forms of communication with the outside world would be taken from her as soon as they stepped foot into the house, so she was going to take advantage while she could.

“Maybe,” Chrissy said, sounding wholly unconvinced as the SUV kicked up dust from the dirt path around them. “Still feels weird though.”

Waverly looked back out the window as the car stopped and the dust kicked up by the tires began to settle. They got out and Chrissy instantly morphed into producer mode. She held out her hand for Waverly’s phone, who quickly sent an ‘I love you’ text to Wynonna before handing it to her. Chrissy tossed it unceremoniously into her purse and opened the front door to the house. Waverly looked around herself in awe as she stepped inside. Somehow it managed to feel warm and lived in despite the obvious air of luxury surrounding the place. It was large and open, with comfortable looking couches in the living room but a television was noticeably absent.

“Follow me!” Chrissy said walking across the living room to the kitchen. Waverly followed, eyes trying to take in all the details as she went. “So, the kitchen will be fully stocked at all times. Literally unlimited alcohol.”

“That doesn’t seem like the best idea,” Waverly chuckled as she leaned on the island. Twenty some young men in a house and unlimited alcohol? Sounded like a recipe for disaster. Chrissy opened the fridge briefly before turning back towards Waverly.

“It’s the worst idea,” Chrissy confirmed, “That’s why they do it. They’re hoping for drama. Makes good television. Speaking of-” Chrissy pointed to the corner and Waverly’s eyes followed to see a barely noticeable camera. “-they’re in every part of the house. Except the bathroom, your room and Dream Suite.”

Chrissy wiggled her eyes and the tips of Waverly’s ears burned. She remembered the so called Dream Suite from the episodes of the show she’d watched with Rosita and Wynonna. Basically the sex room. Chrissy saw Waverly’s embarrassment and reached over to cover her hand with her own.

“No pressure,” Chrissy said softly. “But like...no judgement either.” She finished with a wink and Waverly’s face just burned even more. Chrissy squeezed Waverly’s hand one last time before walking away. “Alright, let me show you the pool.”

***

Waverly couldn’t help but feel nervous as the makeup girl put finishing touches on her face. Her hair was smoothed out, flowing around her shoulders, and they had shoved her into a glittery red dress that she was pretty sure she wanted to live in. It hugged her in just the right way and she wondered if she hadn’t been dressing herself properly all these years or if this was just some kind of magical dress. It must be if she could still feel good even with the mic pack strapped to her and a radio in her ear.

A young PA poked his head in the door of her room with an awkward smile, earpiece in his ear and a walkie talkie on his belt. He had dark hair and a lopsided smile that had an instant familiarity to it. Waverly smiled back with a small wave.

“Lucado just wanted me to tell you that they’re ready as soon as you are,” he said stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

“I’m done with her, Jeremy,” the makeup girl said as she put one finishing touch on Waverly’s eyeshadow.

Waverly smiled at the makeup girl and stood up, smoothing her dress out and checking her hair one more time in the mirror. 

“Jeremy?” she asked, turning back to the PA, “I’m Waverly.”

Jeremy chuckled awkwardly. “I know. You’re...you know. The whole reason we’re here.”

Waverly smiled apologetically. “I guess you’re right.”

“I’ll be your escort for the duration of the show,” Jeremy said as he led her out towards the front of house. “Mostly Lucado just wants me to have eyes on you at all times in case we need you.”

“Couldn’t they just check all the cameras they have around the house,” Waverly only half joked.

Jeremy chuckled as he opened the front door for her. “Oh no. Those are all feeding into a production truck just off site.”

“Oh,” Waverly said as she walked out the door. The lights set up in the front almost immediately blinded her. There were only a couple, but they were so bright that Waverly wondered how they weren’t going to wash her out entirely.

She saw a few cameramen standing around, their cameras set up next to them and waiting for something to happen. Lucado and Chrissy descended on her in an instant and Jeremy faded into the background.

“Waverly you look amazing,” Chrissy said as she looked her up and down. She took her hand and twirled her to get a better look. “Definitely the right choice for the first night.”

“Okay, Waverly,” Lucado said, looking down at her clipboard then over her shoulder. “We’re going to have you over here.”

She put her hand behind Waverly’s arm and led her to a very specific spot in the walkway of the house. She was standing just on the edge of the driveway, lights beaming down at her as the cameramen began to pick up their equipment and test it out.

Lucado smiled at Waverly stiffly as she explained. “We have twenty-seven men waiting to meet you down at base camp. They’ll come up in limos and do that thing where they try and impress you with something.”

Waverly let out a deep breath through her nose and nodded, looking at the long driveway. “Okay. I can do that.”

“You can and you will,” Lucado said as Chrissy gave Waverly a big thumbs up from behind her. Waverly’s palms began to sweat and she shifted on her feet. She went to bite her lip but remembered her freshly applied lipstick and bit the inside of her cheek instead. 

“I’ll be in the monitor room, but I’ll be in your ear the whole time,” Lucado said with a firm nod before walking away. Chrissy stayed behind and practically bounced up to Waverly. She took both of her hands and swung them between them.

“Are you nervous?” Chrissy asked softly.

Waverly nodded, “Yeah, really nervous.” She squeezed Chrissy’s hands and shook her head. “I haven’t been this nervous since the-...well...ever.”

“You’re going to do great,” Chrissy said like it was a secret. “All of these guys are amazing. Just have fun and be natural, okay?”

“Okay,” Waverly said with a nod.

Be natural. Chrissy had said it as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do with a bunch of cameras and lights on you. Chrissy surged forward and wrapped her arms around Waverly in a hug. Relief flooded through her at the familiar touch so Waverly squeezed her friend extra hard.

“Thank you for doing this,” Chrissy whispered, “I’m excited for you.”

“Thank you,” Waverly whispered back before Chrissy pulled away with a final smile. With one last look over her shoulder, Chrissy disappeared back into the house and Waverly was standing in the walkway by herself. Out of the house came the host, Mark, and he smiled as he adjusted his jacket.

“Hey, Waverly,” he said holding out his hand, “Nice to officially meet you.”

“You too,” she said taking his hand. He seemed nice at least. His hand shake wasn’t limp like men usually gave her when they underestimated her. That had always driven her crazy. 

“Before we get started,” he said as he took a step closer to her, “just let me know if any of these guys give you a hard time or anything, okay? Sometimes the producers are just looking for drama but I don’t want you to ever be uncomfortable.”

Waverly smiled and squeezed his hand in thanks with a small nod. He nodded back and patted the top of her hand before turning towards the camera that was setting up in front of them. He straightened out his suit and rolled his shoulders.

“I’m going to intro you and we’ll have a brief chat before we start, okay?” Mark said patting down an invisible out of place hair on his head.

“I can do that,” Waverly said clapping her hands in front of her for a moment with a determined nod. “If I can get my sister out of bed after a night of drinking, I can do anything.”

He laughed. “I like this one,” he shouted to no one in particular before offering her a wink. “You’re gonna be a star.”

“Alright, camera rolling!” someone shouted. Waverly felt nerves fly like butterflies in her stomach as the world around them fell oddly quiet. She swore she could hear her own heartbeat.

“Sound?”

“Rolling!”

“Alright, places! And...action!”

“Hello, My name is Mark,” he smiled at the camera that was hovering in front of their faces, “And I’m here with Waverly.” He turned towards her. “Are you ready to meet all of these eligible bachelors?”

“I’m so ready,” Waverly said bouncing a little on her toes and trying not to look at the camera. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“No nerves? No nothing?”

“Oh, there are definitely some nerves,” Waverly said with a laugh.

“Well hopefully some of these guys can put those nerves at ease.”

“Hopefully! I’m really looking forward to meeting them.”

“Alright, then I’ll get out of here and here comes the first limo!” Mark gestured towards the driveway just as a limo was coming up it. He disappeared somewhere and Waverly stood awkwardly as she waited for the door to open. The nerves in her stomach were certainly not going anywhere as a man in a suit stepped out of the car. 

He was tall and handsome with brown hair and bright eyes. His muscles were apparent even under his suit. Waverly had to admit that her heart rate increased a little bit as he smiled widely at her.

 _Shit. Maybe this is more legit than I thought_ , she mused as the man closed the door to the limo. He held a lasso and twirled it over his head like a cowboy before throwing the looped end so that it landed around Waverly’s torso. She stood in shock for a moment before laughing as he pretended to use the rope to pull himself closer to her until he was only a couple of feet away from her.

“Hi, my name is Champ,” he said with that same charming smile, “I’m hoping to rope your heart tonight.”

It was cheesy. Beyond cheesy. But Waverly was still charmed. She giggled and opened her arms to hug him which he gladly accepted.

“It’s nice to meet you, Champ!” she said. “Thank you for showing me your roping skills.”

“Anytime,” he said with a wink as he pulled away. She stepped out of the rope and he wrapped it up and headed into the house. Waverly watched him go and let out a soft sigh.

“Wow, okay, that’s one way to start the night,” she said to herself with a small smile. But she barely had time to process before the limo door opened again.

***

Twenty-seven men. Twenty-seven men who all had some sort of cheesy pick up line or gimmick. One guy rode in on a horse, another was dressed in a cow outfit and made her rope him up like a baby calf, someone else backflipped over her and a guy who insisted on going by ‘B-Train’ skated up to her in a full hockey uniform with her face on the front of the jersey.

Yeah. It was a lot to take in.

At first, Waverly found the whole thing charming and fun. What would the next guy come up with to impress her? But it was becoming abundantly clear that each attempt just seemed to be more tiring than the next. She had to admit, the tactics did work to an extent. There was no way she was forgetting any of the guys with weird intros while the guys who just came up and introduced themselves were more easily forgotten.

It took nearly five hours for them to film all the intros and Waverly felt like her feet were about to fall off. Standing in heels for that long was definitely not recommended. After the last guy had introduced himself, Waverly was ushered into the house where she was now expected to mingle with all of them.

After hugging all of the contestants during the intros, Waverly smelled like a mix of so many different colognes and aftershaves that she was starting to get light headed. She stepped into the living room where everyone was sitting and having drinks. The cameras had begun to fade into the background which was slightly alarming; she would have to unpack all that later. The men were looking at her with rapt attention, and she smiled charmingly. It was a little off putting to have all of them staring at her like that... but at the same time kinda nice. She’d captured the attention of boys in high school, it was hard not to as the head cheerleader. And she had attention from men in college too, she was just too busy to really deal with it.

But she had never had _this_ much attention. 

“Hi, everyone,” she said with a wave, “It was so nice meeting all of you and I can’t wait to get to know you all a little better.”

Before Waverly was even done talking, Champ was up from the couch with a half drunk beer glass in his hand. He stepped right over the coffee table to get to Waverly, that big boyish smile on his face that made Waverly remember him to begin with.

“Hey, Waverly,” he said adjusting his jacket. “Can I steal you away for a moment?”

“Um, sure,” she said with a wide smile, taking the arm he offered her. He walked her out to some couches by the pool and they sat down. Waverly smiled at him, fiddling nervously with her hands in her lap.

“How are you tonight?” he asked, “Having a good night I hope?”

“Yeah, I guess you can say that,” Waverly said with a chuckle as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

“Well, I just wanted to grab you for a second and say hi. And that I can’t wait to spend more time with you,” he said reaching over and covering her hand with his.

It was a little sweaty and heavy but he seemed sweet enough. He had that handsome thing going on for him and he was certainly charming. She took her other hand and put it on top of the one covering her own with a bright smile.

“I’m looking forward to spending more time with you too,” Waverly said squeezing his hand.

If possible, he smiled even wider and Waverly felt her heart flutter just the faintest bit. Maybe all this wouldn’t be so bad, she thought as he leaned forward to give her a light peck on the cheek. 

***

Three hours later and things still didn’t seem to be winding down. Waverly had one on one chats with only six of the twenty-seven guys, and even from her isolated area near the pool away from them she could hear drama brewing in the living room.

“I don’t want to know,” she muttered as she heard something crash. She turned to Jeremy who always seemed to be right there where she needed him. “Jeremy, I’m going to use the restroom really quickly.”

Jeremy looked around nervously but nodded. “Um...okay. I’ll let Lucado know.”

“Thank you,” Waverly said with a kind smile as she walked back into the house and down the hall to the bathroom furthest away. Really she just needed a moment to herself without the cameras following her every move and all the guys trying to get her attention. The first thing she did when she was out of sight of the cameras was reach behind her and turn off her mic pack. The last thing she needed was everyone on the crew hearing her use the restroom.

She took her time once she got in there, just letting herself breath and decompress for a moment. Waverly took a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror. If it wasn’t for all the layers the lovely makeup girl had slathered on her before they started taping, Waverly was sure she would look as tired as she felt. She hadn’t realized that not having a single moment to herself would be so...exhausting.

With one final breath, she walked out of the bathroom only to hear some light cursing coming from down the hall. She looked back towards where the crew was and decided a little detour wouldn’t hurt. It would only be for a couple of minutes anyways. 

Waverly walked down the hall where a door was slightly ajar. The sound of murmuring and frustrated sighs only got louder the closer that Waverly got. When she was standing in front of the door, she gently pushed it open. She caught a glimpse of a redheaded woman sitting cross legged on the floor, back to her, with a pile of wood in front of her, before she was suddenly hit in the face with what felt like a small booklet.

Waverly jumped a little, batting her hand helplessly at the booklet as it fluttered to the floor.

“O’ ma’ go’, I’m so ‘orry!” the redhead said as she turned, cheeks almost matching her hair. Waverly got over the initial shock of it all and instead moved on to the shock of taking in the beautiful woman sitting right in front of her. Waverly couldn’t help but smile with a shake of her head, clearing her throat. 

“I’m fine, just startled,” she said softly.

The other woman opened her mouth to talk again but paused, blushing even deeper. She held her hand over her mouth and spit out some screws she was apparently storing in there like some kind of adorable yet sexy chipmunk.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to assault you with Ikea instructions.”

“Is that what these are?” Waverly said bending down to pick them up. Suddenly all the pieces of wood and hardware piled in front of the other woman made sense. She flipped through the vague instructions; the cartoon people seemed to be working towards the end goal of building a desk. Waverly took a moment to assess the woman in front of her. She was wearing jeans and a flannel button up, her short hair pulled away from her face. She was striking, really. Waverly felt like she could stare at her for hours and not get tired of tracing the lines of her face.

“Get a little hairy out there?” Nicole asked tilting her head vaguely towards the living room where all the bachelors were waiting for Waverly to make her appearance again. There was a slight lilt to her voice that warmed Waverly’s bones. She shook herself from her staring and smiled.

“Not as hairy as it seems in here.”

The woman blushed and gestured towards the half built desk. “I built a barn but I can’t build a goddamn desk.”

“To be fair, I’m sure the barn came with better instructions,” Waverly smiled as she wandered further into the room, feeling drawn to the other woman but not sure why. She didn’t think she could have resisted going further into the room if she wanted. Brown eyes watched Waverly carefully as she sat down on the other side of the wood. This proved a far more difficult task than she was hoping with the dress on. “Can I help?”

The other woman smiled so widely that two dimples became apparent on her face. Waverly felt her heart skip a beat at the sight and quickly looked down at the pile.

“Sure,” the other woman said holding out her hand for Waverly to shake, “I’m Nicole by the way. Nicole Haught.”

 _Haught_ , Waverly thought to herself, _Of course._

Waverly took her hand and shook it. “I’m-”

“Waverly Earp,” Nicole interrupted, though not rudely. Especially with the way she was smiling at Waverly. There was something about her smile, about the quiet confidence radiating out of her that made it so Waverly couldn’t look away. “You’re quite the popular girl around here.”

Waverly shrugged with a roll of her eyes. “It’s all in the smile and wave,” she said with a dry chuckle. She noticed their hands were still linked and blushed as she pulled hers away, tucking some hair behind her ear instead.

“Ah, is that it?” Nicole said taking the instructions from Waverly and turning to the correct page without looking at them. “Could have sworn it would have been the pretty smile.”

Waverly blushed deeper and found herself tongue tied, jaw agape. Of all the cheesy pickup lines she’d heard today, Nicole’s definitely wasn’t the best. But it certainly had the most effect on her. 

Nicole’s smile widened knowingly and Waverly quickly snapped her mouth shut. She cleared her throat and looked back down at the pile, picking up a block of wood.

“Where do we think this goes?” Waverly asked finally looking back up at Nicole. The redhead was still smiling, but looked smug as she flipped through the instructions.

“I guess we’ll figure it out,” Nicole said lifting her arms over her head in a stretch. Waverly let her eyes linger on the small sliver of pale skin that became exposed as Nicole’s shirt lifted with her arms. Vaguely she registered that in barely five minutes she found Nicole ten times more interesting than any of the twenty-some guys in the next room.

“Sure you have time?” Nicole said with a curious tilt of her head as she ended her stretch, “Seems like you have a lot of people waiting on you.”

Waverly shrugged and stretched her legs out in front of her. “They can entertain themselves without me for a little bit. I need a break. And I think building confusing furniture with an interesting woman is just the way to do that.”

“You think I’m interesting, huh?” Nicole said with a smirk.

“Maybe everyone else in that room is just so uninteresting that you seem interesting by default,” Waverly teased.

Nicole’s head dipped shyly as she smiled up at Waverly, red hair falling across her cheek. Waverly wondered what it might feel like to brush it back behind her ear. 

“Alright then, Waverly,” Nicole said slapping her thighs with a sigh, “Let’s build a desk.”

***

“I don’t think that goes there-”

“No! It totally does. Look-”

“That’s wrong, there’s no way-”

“Look!”

Nicole frowned at Waverly from across the top of the newly built and barely standing desk. Waverly was sitting on her knees on the other side, pounding one of the final wooden pegs into place with a knowing smile on her face.

“I don’t believe you,” Nicole said, disguising a small grin behind her disapproving tone. 

“Why don’t you just come look?” Waverly singsonged with a quirk of her eyebrow. 

Nicole grumbled and crawled under the desk, her head popping up right next to Waverly’s as she inspected the peg. She looked at the instructions and at the peg about five times before throwing the rumpled paper back onto the desk.

“Alright, fine, you win,” Nicole said looking at Waverly. She smiled in happiness, cheeks tinting as she noticed how close Nicole’s face was to hers. She could see a faint scar under Nicole’s left eye and the soft freckles that dotted her pale skin. Waverly caught a hint of vanilla in her nose and she wondered if it was Nicole or if she was having a stroke. Waverly’s breath caught in her throat as the corners of Nicole’s mouth curled up in a small smile. “Guess you are more than just a pretty face, huh?”

Waverly blushed deeper but rolled her eyes, trying to play it off. “What? You doubted me?”

Nicole moved back to the other side of the desk and Waverly let out a small sigh of relief. They had been building the desk for at least a half hour. Conversation had been flowing between them easily, banter naturally leaving their lips. It was a relief just to have a conversation with someone that wasn’t in front of a camera for once today.

“I would never doubt you, Waverly Earp,” Nicole said going back to screwing in some of the final desk details. “It’s just that usually the girls they have on these types of shows don’t have much to offer.”

Waverly snorted. “Yes, well. I’m sure they’re all interesting in their own way.”

“I suppose,” Nicole said, “Still. Those boys in there better realize how lucky they are.”

Waverly felt her heart flutter and she hoped her blush was hidden as her hair fell a little in front of her face. “You’re a charmer, aren’t you?” she teased.

Nicole shrugged and smiled. “I just call it like I see it.”

Waverly let herself get lost in Nicole’s eyes for a moment as her thoughts plowed ahead. What was happening? How did she go from a date with the town loser to a room full of beautiful men vying for her attention and a beautiful woman flirting with her? She didn’t let herself be fooled into thinking that Nicole was _actually_ interested in her that way though. Waverly knew about that kind of girl from college. The kind that flirted with everyone, especially the seemingly unavailable ones. Nicole wasn’t actually trying to get with her the same way the men were. Didn’t mean that Waverly couldn’t enjoy the flirting and flirt back a little herself.

She was about to respond when a frantic knock came at the door and Jeremy practically burst in. “Oh, phew,” he said with a relieved smile, “I was looking for you. Lucado wants you back out there.”

Waverly sighed and threw Nicole an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Nicole said standing up and coming around the desk to offer Waverly her hand. “I should be thanking you for helping me with this task I clearly wasn’t equipped to handle it on my own.”

“I’m sure you would have figured it out eventually,” Waverly said with a wink as Nicole pulled her up. Her hands were strong and calloused, but not in an unpleasant way. For some reason Waverly hadn’t noticed it before. Nicole squeezed her hand before letting it go. Waverly walked past her to the door where Jeremy was practically bouncing in nervousness. She turned back and looked over her shoulder. “I’ll um...see you around?”

“Well, I do live here,” Nicole said softly, her smile never faltering. “And I look forward to it.”

“Right,” Waverly said with a nod. “I’ll see you then.”

She forced herself to turn and walk away, following Jeremy back to the living room of eligible bachelors waiting for her, even as her mind lingered on a certain redhead.

***

_This season on The Bachelorette Canada!_

Waverly sat in an interview, bright smile on her face as she talked and gestured excitedly. “I don’t know I just-...I expected to meet someone but I never expected to make connections with so many of these guys. I’m definitely going to have a hard time choosing.”

A small montage of Waverly bonding with different guys plays. We see her having a picnic with one guy, riding horses with Champ in another. She’s ice skating with B-Train in another, both smiling as she slips across the ice. 

“Waverly and I just have a connection,” B-Train says in an interview, “She’s like the forward and I’m her right wing, ready to support her at every power play.”

_The love-_

Champ’s interview is shown next, his shirt off for some unexplained reason. “I know a lot of guys here think they have a chance, but it’s been clear since the beginning that Waverly and I have a special connection. You can’t fake that.”

_The drama-_

The camera cut to a shot of Champ by the pool arguing with a taller man, chest to chest. 

“Back off, man,” the taller man says, “You’re acting like a baby. You think that’s what Waverly wants.”

Champ pushes the other man and there is bleeping as they both curse, some of the other guys rushing to break them up as punches start to be thrown. 

The camera cuts back to Champ’s interview. “I’m willing to fight for her. Can anyone else say that?”

Again the camera cuts, this time to Waverly who’s sitting in her bed with her head in her hands. Sniffling is heard on her mic as she mutters. “I just don’t know what to do.”

There's another shot of Waverly with one of the guys. Tall, blonde and blue eyes, he sits next to her on the couch. She shakes her head, anger apparent on her face. “I just don’t know why you would lie to me like that,” she says, “How am I supposed to trust you?”

The camera shows Waverly in an interview, eyes bloodshot as tears stream down her cheeks. She looks up, trying to gain her composure as she shakes her head. 

“I just-...I guess I just didn’t realize it would be this hard,” she says with a watery chuckle. 

_And finally, who will Canada’s sweetheart give the final rose to?_

We see Waverly standing with the setting sun as her backdrop, rose in hand as she looks down at her hands in thought. We don’t see who she’s standing in front of, but we see her shaking her head. 

“The final rose-“ Waverly looked up, “-goes to-“

_This season! On The Bachelorette Canada!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	3. I Want Some Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you again for reading my fun little reality show AU that could. Featuring Thirsty Waverly at it's peak. And she only gets thirstier.
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_Last time on The Bachelorette Canada!_

On the first night in the mansion, Waverly sits by the pool with a handsome man. The lower third of the screen says his name is Perry and he’s an Entrepreneur. He says something that makes Waverly laugh and the scene cuts to Champ standing in the house, watching them through the window. 

“Bullshit,” he says to himself, clearly inebriated. “Champ, Social Media Participant/Rodeo Star” is how the screencap describes him. 

B-Train sits on the couch, legs spread and arms wide along the back of the couch. His description reads “B-Train, Hockey Enthusiast”. He nods in greeting as Perry walks back inside. 

“Nice penguin suit, bro,” he says as Perry tugs at the edge of his perfectly tailored suit. 

“Nice jersey,” Perry counters. B-Train wiggles his eyebrows at Perry and strokes the picture of Waverly’s face on his jersey. 

“I’m not going to complain about a beautiful woman on me, especially Waverly.”

It cuts to an interview with Perry who’s shaking his head, unamused. “I thought they were supposed to find men to compete for Waverly’s heart. But all I’m seeing are boys.”

The camera cuts to an interview with Waverly, who’s blushing. “I definitely met some interesting...people today. I’m really looking forward to getting to know them better.”

She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth before smiling and blushing even more deeply.

***

No matter how comfortable the dress was initially, Waverly was more than ready to strip it off as soon as she got to her room that night. Chrissy followed her, helping her unzip it and hang it back up before Waverly practically ripped the mic pack off from around her torso. She set it on the nightstand before collapsing face first on the bed. 

“No pj night?” Chrissy asks as she sit on the edge of the bed. 

Waverly just groaned and turned her head so it wasn’t pressed into the pillow. Chrissy smiled down at her sympathetically and brushed some hair from Waverly’s face. 

“I promise the first night is the hardest,” Chrissy said toeing off her heels and lounging against the pillows next to Waverly. “That first rose ceremony is always brutal.”

“I feel bad for sending all those guys home,” Waverly pouted. 

Chrissy chuckled as she looked at something on her phone. “Better get used to it, honey. This is the first of many rose ceremonies.”

Waverly watched Chrissy scroll through her phone and her frown got deeper. “How come you get to have your phone?”

“Because I’m not going to have articles about me and all the other contestants floating around the internet like you are. You must remain untainted by the world.”

Another sigh fell from Waverly’s lips as she turned onto her back, eyes on the ceiling. Her mind wandered to Nicole and if she ever finished the desk. Waverly’s cheeks flushed when she thought of how Nicole smiled at her and how her dimples popped. Nicole was wearing a blue flannel like some sort of gay stereotype, but it worked for her. Something about the color brought out her eyes and highlighted her hair. She looked like she was strong. She wondered if she was hiding muscles under those long sleeves. 

Waverly was shocked out of her daydream by Chrissy hitting her arm. She blinked in annoyance at her friend who was grinning like the cat who caught the canary. 

“Who are you thinking about?” she asked conspiratorially. “Is it Perry? He’s dreamy. Or Champ? You spend a lot of time with him. He kinda reminds me of the guy you dated in high school.”

Waverly shrugged and looked back at the ceiling. “I was just…thinking,” she lied as she swung her legs out of bed and opened her suitcase. She made a mental note to unpack it tomorrow. Today was definitely not the day. She searched until she found her pajamas and slipped them on as she grasped her toiletries. As she walked into the bathroom, she casually mentioned, “I met the house owner today.”

“Nicole?” Chrissy said, eyes still on her phone. 

“Yeah. She’s nice,” Waverly said noncommittally. She started to brush her hair out as she continued. “I helped her build a desk.”

“Is that where you disappeared to earlier? You almost gave poor Jeremy a heart attack.” Chrissy looked up, finally setting down her phone. 

“I wasn’t gone that long,” Waverly said, trying to play it off. “I just needed a break.”

“A break with the sexy gay ranch owner?” Chrissy asked. 

Waverly blushed. “I didn’t call her sexy.”

“I can see it all over your face,” Chrissy accused, “She’s off limits, Waves.”

“Jeez, Chrissy, I’m not-“ Waverly stopped herself, feeling her face heating up, “I just said I met her. Not that I wanted to jump her bones or anything.”

Chrissy stared at her for a moment. “Of all the handsome guys here, you have to go and get a crush on the one person that refuses to be on the show.”

“I don’t have a crush!” Waverly insisted as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush. 

“If you say so,” Chrissy singsonged as she looked back down at her phone. 

Waverly started brushing her teeth maybe a little too aggressively as she looked at Chrissy’s smug, knowing face in the mirror. She spit before shouting again. 

“It’s not a crush!”

Chrissy just looked at her knowingly. 

***

Most of the next day was lost to sleeping. Waverly figured going to sleep at six in the morning would do that to a person. But the day after that, Waverly woke up feeling refreshed. She wasn’t what she considered an early riser, not by a lot by shot. But she was up early enough to get a run in before things really started for the day. It really was the only thing she could do without a gym on the property. Plus she figured it would give her a chance to explore the property a little bit. 

And yes, maybe in the back of her mind she thought she might see Nicole around. It was a ranch, after all. One that needed daily maintenance and all that. But she would leave it to a friendly smile and wave if she did. 

So what if she picked out the cute sports bra that didn’t squish her too much and the cut off T-shirt that showed off her abs. It wasn’t on _purpose_. It was just exercise. 

She did a quick stretch and started jogging, making her way to the edge of the fence. There was a slightly worn path, but she still was cautious about where she was stepping in case there were any holes. She got past the main part of the property and ended up in a pasture. She could see a barn in the far part of the land and what looked like a horse ring behind it. As she jogged closer, the summer heat weighing heavy on her, she heard some movement over behind the barn. 

Subconsciously, or...maybe not so subconsciously, Waverly began jogging along the fenceline towards the barn. She wasn’t expecting Nicole to come out of a side gate of the barn on a chestnut colored horse, wearing boots, another flannel and a Stetson atop her head. Waverly felt her heart rate speed up a little but she blamed it on her body finally catching up with her exercise. 

Nicole kicked the horse into a trot away from the barn and effectively away from Waverly. She felt sweat prickling along her hairline as she watched the way Nicole seemed to almost move with the horse, the rising sun highlighting her red locks. 

Waverly sighed as Nicole stood in the saddle so Waverly could see how her jeans hugged her just right. Unfortunately in that moment she also stepped into a hole and her ankle twisted at a weird angle. 

“Ow! Shit- Fudgenuggets!” Waverly yelled as she tripped forward and landed in the dirt. She groaned, cheeks a bright red as she turned over on her back, her ankle throbbing. Really, truly, she hoped Nicole hadn’t heard her yelling or worse, seen her fall into the dirt. She hoped that the tall weeds hid her from view. “Please please please have missed that,” she whispered to herself. 

Of course, that was when she heard Nicole clicking to the horse and the sound of hoofbeats getting closer. Waverly kept her eyes shut as if it would help her disappear. But when a shadow moved over her face, she knew she was caught. 

She peeked one eye open just as Nicole swung herself off the horse and landed on the ground next to her. 

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked kneeling down next to Waverly, her brow wrinkled in concern. Waverly tried to wave Nicole off with a small chuckle.

“Oh yeah I just...got tired,” she said with a shrug, ankle throbbing, “Just needed a little break.”

Waverly watched as Nicole actively tried to keep a smile off of her face with barely any success. 

“So...that wasn’t you that yelled ‘fudge nuts’?”

“Fudgenuggets, actually.”

“My mistake, _fudgenuggets._ ”

“No, that wasn’t me,” Waverly said drumming her fingers on her stomach. 

Nicole nodded slowly before sighing and offering her hand. “Waverly, can I please help you off the ground?”

“I’m fine,” Waverly insisted. She would much rather stay down in the dirt before admitting she had tripped in a hole and gone crashing to the ground while staring at Nicole riding a horse. 

Nicole raised an eyebrow, hand still out. “Really?”

“Yep.”

“Okay,” Nicole said standing up and slapping her hands on her thighs, “well I guess I should tell you that there’s a serious ant problem around here right now-“

Waverly practically jumped off the ground with a small scream, wiping invisible ants off of the back of her pants. Her ankle smarted and she hissed in pain, trying to hobble on one foot. Nicole immediately grabbed her arm and Waverly leaned part of her weight on her, noticing with a rush of heat to her face that Nicole still smelled good. Like vanilla dipped donuts and...hay.

“So not just resting?” Nicole asked softly, moving her arm to loop around Waverly’s waist. She was hyper aware of the warm hand above her hip and it was hard to concentrate on anything else. 

“Not just resting,” Waverly admitted. 

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked, “Let me help you back to the house.”

“No, it’s fine,” Waverly said, “I’m embarrassed enough as it is.”

Nicole smiled widely, dimples practically blinding Waverly. “Why are you embarrassed? If I could tell you the number of times I’ve tripped in these darn gopher holes we’d be here all day.”

Waverly chuckled and leaned a little more into Nicole without thinking. “I mean...if you wouldn’t mind,” she sighed, “my ankle hurts like a bitch.”

“You got it,” Nicole said leading her closer to the horse. “I’ll give you a ride back.”

“Um,” Waverly stopped suddenly, “A ride?”

“Yeah,” Nicole said matter-of-factly. 

Waverly just stared at Nicole wide eyed. “On that?”

Whiskey snorted, shaking her mane out, and Nicole patted her neck with her free hand. “Ssh, girl, she didn’t mean it,” Nicole said to the horse before turning back to Waverly. “Don’t worry, ol’ Whiskey here is a sweetheart. Plus I thought you were a cowgirl according to all those ads and articles.”

Waverly smiled guiltily. “I um...you know. Television.”

Nicole just nodded and tilted her head to the horse. “So...no ride?”

Waverly felt her resolve crack and she shrugged. “No, I’ll um...yeah. Sure.”

“Are you sure?” Nicole asked, “I don’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable with.”

“No no, I’m fine. Just-...took me off guard. You know,” Waverly said, trying to play it off as she looked up at the horse. “I’ll just um...get on up.” 

Waverly grabbed the edge of the saddle and slotted her injured foot into the saddle. 

“Wait-“

She swung herself up onto the top of the horse, one thing she still remembered from her pre-teen days when she wanted to ride horses. A sharp pain went through her ankle at the pressure and she winced. Whiskey stepped to the side and Waverly let out a small squeak, both hands clinging to the horn of the saddle. 

“I coulda helped you up, you know,” Nicole said, glancing down at Waverly’s hurt ankle. “It’s a little swollen...but it should be fine if you treat it right.”

“I figure I’ll ice it when I get back,” Waverly muttered, leaning over to look at her ankle. 

Nicole grabbed the saddle and lifted herself up into the horse in front of Waverly. She immediately clung to the back of Nicole’s shirt, worried she was going to be thrown off balance and off the horse. 

“You know, my mom used to make a balm that would help that heal right up,” Nicole said as she adjusted her position. “You okay back there?”

“Mhm,” Waverly answered. 

“Hold onto me, yeah?” Nicole said looking over her shoulder. Waverly nodded and tentatively wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist. Her front was pressed to Nicole’s back but she tried to keep a respectable distance. The tips of her ears burned at the proximity, vanilla filling her lungs with each breath. When Nicole kicked Whisky into a slow trot, Waverly clutched Nicole tighter, no space left between them. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, hands clinging to the soft fabric of Nicole’s shirt as they rode.

She could feel quiet laughter rumble in Nicole’s chest as she pressed the side of her face against Nicole’s back, clinging on for dear life. She bounced in the saddle almost painfully and not even the feeling of Nicole’s toned stomach under Waverly’s hands could distract her.

“You okay back there?” Nicole asked as she brought Whisky back down to a smooth walk. Waverly sighed in relief and loosened her hold a little bit as she stopped bouncing roughly in her seat.

“Yep,” Waverly straightened up quickly, clearing her throat, “Just fine.”

They rode in silence for a little bit, Waverly tensing with every trip or stumble the horse took as they rode. She tried not to imagine getting thrown off the horse like when she was younger, but with each jolt she was convinced she about to go flying. 

“So...are your parents living here too?” Waverly asked, hoping conversation would distract her.

“Oh, um...no. They’re um...elsewhere,” Nicole said as she shifted in her saddle, “How was your little ceremony the other night? Find your new husband yet?”

Waverly chuckled. “Obviously. The wedding is tomorrow.”

“Do I get to attend?”

“Mm, very exclusive. Celebrities only kind of wedding, you know?”

Nicole laughed and the sound reverberated through her chest, making Waverly smile.

“All this attention has gotten to your head, Earp,” Nicole teased, “Remember us little people at the end.”

“I’ll get you an autograph,” Waverly said. She peeked over Nicole’s shoulder and saw that they were close to the house and their ride would inevitably come to a close. While she was relieved on one hand, she wasn’t quite ready for her time with Nicole to come to an end. She knew there was a whole day of shooting planned and she probably wouldn’t get another moment to herself until late that night. 

Waverly knew she was going to enjoy getting to know some of the guys, it was just hard in the situation. The high pressure of the cameras...having to split her attention between twenty guys...Plus, Nicole smelled nice. Really nice. Probably nicer than any of the guys and Waverly _liked_ that. And how she was clearly strong even while she looked so...gentle. All the guys were wonderfully _wonderfully_ ripped. All hard muscle and firmness. But that was just it. They were firm, not soft and cuddly. Usually Waverly didn’t mind...and they certainly were lovely to look at. But Nicole was firm _and_ cuddly.

She shook the thoughts from her head and loosened her grip on Nicole’s shirt. She had to keep her mind on what was important, the facts of everything. First off, Waverly wasn’t here to flirt with Nicole. She was here to meet one of the many vetted men who were being paraded in front of her.

Second, Nicole wasn’t interested. There was nothing that Nicole had done or said that implied she was interested at all. Nicole was a flirt. That was that. Waverly really shouldn’t be letting herself get attached and yet…

She was just _so nice_ and pretty and smelled good and -

Waverly sighed and pulled herself together. Leave it to her to want the thing she couldn’t have. As they got closer to the house, Waverly saw Jeremy run out one of the side doors, with his headset in place and the usual panicked look on his face.

“Oh! There you are!” he said jumping a little in excitement. He noticed the horse and Nicole almost as a second thought, jumping back a little. “Oh.”

Nicole slid off the horse first and Waverly’s stomach jolted when Whiskey moved and she wasn’t holding on to the horn. Nicole rested one hand on her thigh and one on the horses neck. The heat of her hand felt like it was burning Waverly through her exercise pants in a...not unpleasant way, but it didn’t last long. Nicole had her hands on Waverly’s waist as she tipped her head for Waverly to get off the horse.

“Do you know how to slide off?” she asked. Waverly nodded and swung her other leg over the saddle, stomach on the saddle as she slid off the horse and back onto the ground. Really she just kind of floated to the ground as Nicole slowly lowered her to avoid hurting her ankle. “Can you walk on it?” 

Waverly tested it, taking a small step forward on her injured foot while Nicole sort of hovered besides her. She winced a little but shrugged. 

“I can walk. I’ll be fine,” Waverly said looking up at Nicole with a small smile. Brown eyes caught with hazel and Waverly’s breath caught in her throat. Her entire body had basically been pressed up to Nicole just a few moments ago, but here she was turning into jelly from looking into her eyes. Waverly was sure she’d never felt anything as gay as this.

“You sure you’re okay?” Nicole asked softly, concern written on her face, “You look a little flushed.”

Waverly chuckled awkwardly, a small snort catching in the back of her throat and making her cough as she waved Nicole off. Hopefully Nicole just thought her cheeks had a permanent tint to them.

“I’m fine,” Waverly said, “My ankle already feels better. Thank you for the ride. Er...on your horse.”

Nicole smiled crookedly, charming as always. “Anytime, Waves,” she said gently. She might as well have winked too with the way Waverly’s heart took flight in her chest. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you later,” Waverly said, watching as Nicole got back on the horse and made clicking noises while using the reins to turn Whiskey around back towards the barn. She looked over her shoulder one last time and tipped her hat to Waverly. She wasn’t sure if she was swooning or having a heart attack. Or both.

Jeremy cleared his throat next to her and she forced her eyes away from the retreating redhead.

“So uh...what’s on the agenda for today?” she asked with a smile.

“Group date,” Jeremy said with a smile, “With six of the guys.”

Waverly forced her smile to stay on her face. “Super!”

***

Waverly got back to her room and took a quick shower. She taped up her ankle and threw on the clothes Chrissy and the wardrobe person had laid out for her for the day. Thankfully it wasn’t much different than what she usually wore, simple shorts and a crop top. She brushed out her hair and did her makeup, knowing the makeup girl was probably going to mess with it anyways once she got a hold of her.

Jeremy knocked a few moments later to collect her, Chrissy by his side. They ushered her into a car and headed towards their destination.

“What’s this group date we’re doing?” Waverly asked as she looked out the window for a chance to catch a glimpse of Nicole.

Chrissy smiled. “It’s like a relay race competition sort of thing based on you working at a bar. They’re going to carry some kegs, open a beer bottle with weird things, crawl through a mud pit and then make you a drink.”

“That sounds...interesting,” Waverly said as Chrissy handed her an iPad with some headshots up on it. 

“These are the eight guys you’re having your date with, so remember their names now so it’s not embarrassing later,” Chrissy explained, “B-Train, Perry, Jacob, Johnny-”

Chrissy droned on the names and Waverly just nodded, trying to commit the faces to memory. Really the only ones she remembered were B-Train and Perry. She had a vague idea who some of the other ones were but they were the only two who stood out.

“Here’s the thing, Waves,” Chrissy said as she handed the iPad back to her, “You’re expected to kiss whoever wins the competition.”

“ _Expected_?” Waverly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chrissy nodded, “Obviously, don’t do it if you’re not comfortable. But...it’s all about good tv and...kissing him would be good tv.”

“Okay,” Waverly trailed off. She wasn’t against kissing him, she wasn’t a prude. But she hadn’t kissed anyone in front of the camera yet and that’s what she was most nervous about. What if it looked fake or unnatural? What if it _felt_ fake or unnatural?

It didn’t take too long to get to the park where this competition was happening. They set Waverly up in a certain spot and told her all the lines she needed to say. It seemed like it was going to be fairly easy. Less of a group date and more like a group competition that Waverly just hosted and watched. Easy enough.

They set her up on her marks and she posed there with a giant smile on her face as all the guys ran down the hill of the park towards her like over excited golden retriever puppies. They stood in front of her as she explained the task at hand and she watched them all surreptitiously flexing their muscles at the mention of competition. After she explained it, she was placed under an arch that the first guy would run to. They would hand her the drink they had made and they would be the winner if it was made correctly.

Admittedly, she had fun. It was entertaining to watch as all the guys made fools of themselves to impress her. At the end, it was Champ and Perry who were neck and neck, all the way up until they had to go behind the makeshift bar and make a Mai Tai, complete with garnish. Perry pulled through at the last second, sprinting over to Waverly just in front of Champ. He stopped in front of her, dropping on one knee as he presented his drink to her. 

Waverly took a sip and nodded. “It’s good.”

“Really?” he asked as he stood up.

“Really,” Waverly said with a wide smile before he opened his arms for a hug.

Waverly hugged him despite the fact that his clothes were covered in mud. The cameras surrounded them and a photographer came out to take pictures of the two of them. She remembered what Chrissy had told her in the car ride over and felt nerves take over for a moment. Perry looked down at her with his arms wrapped around her...Waverly figured it wouldn’t be so bad...just a little peck. So she put her hand on his cheek and leaned in as he leaned down, giving him a soft kiss.

It wasn’t awful. His lips were nice enough and he didn’t have a scratchy five o’clock shadow or anything. And it wasn’t as weird as she thought to kiss him on camera. But it definitely didn’t feel amazing. Maybe it was because they had an audience. That was always a possibility. It certainly had nothing to do with Waverly wondering what it might be like to kiss Nicole. If her lips were as soft and welcoming. If she would make her stomach turn from excitement. Not at all. It was the cameras. Always the cameras.

***

When Waverly got back to the mansion that night, Chrissy followed her into the bathroom as she took her shower.

“So, Nicole dropped something off for you,” Chrissy said, her voice echoing. Waverly immediately stuck her head outside of the shower door and squinted at her.

“Um...she did?” she said casually. Chrissy raised an eyebrow at her and held up a small jar.

“She said it was for your ankle,” she said looking at it. “Something about...her mom?”

Waverly smiled and ducked back into the shower to hide her blush and rinse out her hair. She wondered what had happened to her parents. Were they alive? Estranged? Dead? Why was Nicole taking care of a giant beautiful ranch seemingly by herself?

“You saw her this morning?” Chrissy asked. Waverly could hear the judgement in her voice.

“While I was out on my run. She helped me after I took an unfortunate fall.”

“Mhm.” 

“Chrissy, before you say anything, I wasn’t going out of my way to see her. I was jogging, tripped in a hole and actually tried to avoid her but it was too late, she saw me,” Waverly said.

“I just...know what you’re doing,” Chrissy said as Waverly shut off the shower, “Please, Waverly?”

“I know!” she said catching the towel that Chrissy threw over the top of the shower. “I’m just making friends, okay? There’s a lot of testosterone around here.”

She wrapped her towel around her and stepped out of the shower just in time to catch Chrissy’s playful pout.

“I’m not enough estrogen for you?”

“Sometimes a girl just needs a little more estrogen,” Waverly quipped. Chrissy rolled her eyes and handed Waverly Nicole’s balm. Waverly took it and looked at the balm inside. On the top of the jar was a little sticky note with a messy scrawl on it.

_Rub a little on your ankle twice a day. Three if it’s really aching. Hope this helps. :) - N_

It was a simple note. Nothing out of the ordinary about it. But it made Waverly smile all the same.

***

The next day was her one on one date with Champ. Chrissy told her they were going to some batting cages so she dressed her in simple jeans and a nice shirt. She was actually looking forward to spending some time with Champ. In all the other scenarios he seemed perfectly fine and interesting enough. He was cute and charming and seemed like the exact kind of guy she would have dated in high school. Or even college.

The date went fine. He opened doors for her and was very much a gentleman. He even taught her the proper batting stance in that typical “boy-teaches-girl” way that people loved. He smelled a little bit like sweat and his hands rested a little too low on her hips for her liking, but it was fine other than that, even with the cameras constantly hovering over their faces.

At the end of the night, she kissed him. His lips were chapped and for some reason he tasted like Fritos so Waverly kept it chaste. Despite this, she felt a small thrill in her chest when they kissed. 

Waverly hadn’t hated it, but she hadn’t loved it either. It had just...happened. And now she woudn’t hate if it happened or even didn’t happen again. She cursed her indecisiveness but blamed it on the cameras. It was easy, after all. Easier than admitting that maybe the person she was most interested in wasn’t one of her options at all.

***

That night, Waverly sat on the back porch of the house cradling her cup of tea between her hands, just watching as the tail end of the sunset sunk below the mountains. It really was beautiful. The air smelled crisp and clean and different. It wasn’t like she had never been in the outdoors like this, she basically lived in the middle of nowhere. But something about this ranch just felt...different.

The boys were restricted to the front part of the house for the most part and Waverly stuck to the back. The production team was very strict about them not interacting off camera which Waverly didn’t mind at all. It meant she had some built in alone time where no one could bother her.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

Waverly turned towards the voice, a smile instantly blooming on her face when she saw Nicole walking towards her. Sans horse this time. Thankfully. Her eyes lingered on the dimples that Nicole seemed to showcase with each smile, her eyes always bright.

“Hey,” Waverly managed, scooting over on the step she was sitting on to give Nicole some space to sit. “Where’s Whiskey?”

“Whiskey had enough of me for the day,” Nicole said sitting down next to Waverly. Their arms brushed together and Waverly found herself blushing. Again. Great. “Where are all your doting suitors?”

Waverly chuckled and took a sip of her tea as she looked back out at the mountains. She waved her hand behind her a little bit. “Somewhere...there. Who knows. I wonder what they do in all their spare time.”

“Probably compare dick sizes,” Nicole said a little under her breath. Waverly snorted into her tea and shot Nicole a look.

“Now, come on,” she said looking back at Nicole. “They’re not all that bad. Some of them are very sweet.”

Nicole hummed evasively and considered Waverly, her smile falling from her face but eyes still bright and trained on her. Waverly wanted to look away, she felt like she was being analyzed, but she couldn’t bring herself to avert her gaze.

“So you have a thing for them, huh? You’re gonna find your true love here?” Nicole asked.

Waverly finally looked away, suddenly finding her tea very interesting. She shrugged and leaned against the porch rail. It was an odd question because she felt like the easy answer should have been ‘yes’. That was the entire purpose for being on the show. Her presence here was based on the idea that she believed, truly believed, she would find her true love in one of the twenty-seven men that the network picked out for her. Money was just supposed to sweeten the deal...but for her it was actually the driving force behind her decision. Either way she was expected to propose to one of them at the end of the show. So far she’d only been here for three days and she’d already kissed two guys and really...she did feel a connection with a few of them.

“I think anything is possible,” Waverly said with a final nod. She looked back at Nicole who was giving her the same look as before. Like she was seeing her, really seeing her. It made her squirm. Nicole looked at her for a few seconds longer before nodding and looking away.

“I guess anything is possible,” Nicole repeated. She leaned back against the top step of the porch, elbows resting on it as she kicked her feet out in front of her. Waverly’s eyes naturally followed her movements and to the small strip of skin she could see just above her jeans. She drummed her fingers on the porcelain of her cup. It wasn’t like she wanted to run her fingers over the skin there. No. Ridiculous.

“After all,” Nicole continued, eyes on the mountains too, “I would never think it was possible for you to not have men clambering over themselves to date you. But it must be a thing or else I imagine you wouldn’t be here.”

Waverly blushed and shook her head, taking another sip of tea to give her time to think. _Men_. Waverly had been out long enough to know this was how people prodded the hint of a sexuality out of you. Or at least when you quickly corrected them if you wanted.

“Well, the dating pool in Purgatory isn’t very deep. Small town and all,” Waverly said with a small chuckle, “I’m pretty sure I’ve already dated every available man and women there.” She blushed and shook her head again. “Oh, god, no that sounds like I’ve slept my way through the town. I haven’t-...I’m not my sister, I-...well there were never a lot of available people to begin with.”

Waverly shut her mouth before she tripped over any more of her words and sighed, hoping her embarrassment would fade. But it only got stronger when she looked at Nicole who had an amused look on her face.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Waverly said with a small pout.

“Like what?”

“Like I’m insane.”

“That’s not what this look is,” Nicole said with a shrug.

Waverly raised an eyebrow at her. “Than what is it?”

Nicole licked her lips and Waverly’s eyes followed the movement. “This look? It means you’re cute.”

Waverly opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out. The tips of her ears burned and she could feel her blush creeping up her neck. She watched as something flickered across Nicole’s face and she looked away, eyes back on the mountains. Nicole cleared her throat and stood up abruptly, Waverly copying her movements even in her silence.

“Well, I better get back to my room,” Nicole said with a small smile. “I’ll see you around, Waves.”

With that, Nicole tipped her hat and turned back towards the barn. She walked away and Waverly just watched her helplessly, her mind still trying to catch up.

***

_Coming up on The Bachelorette Canada!_

We see Champ standing behind Waverly at the batting cages, helping her with her swing. She hits the ball and they both yell in celebration. Waverly turns around and hugs Champ who has a toothy smile on his face as he wraps his arms around her and lifts her up in the air. We hear his voice over the picture and cut to his interview.

“Waverly and I just have that special connection, you know?” he says with a smug grin, “I can make her laugh and I think she really needs that in her life. And I can give it to her.”

We see Waverly in her interview, she shrugs and looks coy. “I...think everything’s going really well.”

It cuts to Champ checking his appearance in a mirror of the house, messing with his hair. Perry walks by and shakes his head. Perry sighs in his interview.

“Champ is a joke. He’s only here for attention and...I think Waverly should know.” Perry looks off camera, shaking his head again. “His intentions aren’t pure.”

There’s a shaky hand held shot through a window of Perry talking to Champ, the tension visible. “Dude, are you even here for Waverly?” Perry asked.

Champ scoffed. “Shut up, you don’t know me.”

We see Champ in his interview again. “I’m just saying, that anyone who crosses me needs to watch their back.”

It cuts to a shot of an ambulance pulling up in front of the house, someone is being put in the back, clearly bleeding. It cuts back to Champ’s interview and he shrugs, looking smug. Then there’s a shot of Waverly with her hands over her face. She looks distressed and you can barely hear her when she talks.

“I just...don’t understand why someone would do this,” she says, voice thick with tears, “I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

The dramatic music swells, coming to a crescendo as the main title plays.

_Next time on The Bachelorette Canada!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	4. Here You Come Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!
> 
> Another week, another time for the guys to try and win Waverly's heart. Too bad Nicole is chopping wood in a Stetson.
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

Waverly is seen standing in front of the guys who are all sitting in the living room. Mark is next to her. She holds her hands clasped in front of her excitedly as she says, “We’re going to a local vineyard for the day!”

All the guys cheer and we cut to B-Train’s interview. “Right now, I’m just hoping for some one on one time with Waverly.”

“I think I’m a shoe-in for the good impression rose this week,” Perry says with a confident smile.

Chad, your typical handsome beefy looking guy, nods in his interview. “I own a vineyard. Whatever we do on this date is going to be a piece of cake for me.”

The camera cuts to the bus pulling up to a beautiful vineyard. Waverly is standing out front already, a big smile on her face. All the guys pile out of the bus looking excited for the day ahead.

“Hi everyone!” Waverly says, throwing her arms out wide. The guys all respond at once, a gargled mess of greetings as they all try to outdo each other. “Welcome to Sweet Hill Winery! Today we’re going to make some wine and learn about it and I’m very excited. Sound good?”

All the guys cheer again so Waverly motions for them to follow her into the winery. They walk into a room with clothing racks, identical white outfits hanging on each.

“Alright, so get changed into your wine making clothes and we’ll get started!” Waverly says.

Champ smirks as he picks up his outfit. “Should we get changed here?”

Perry noticeably rolls his eyes.

“Um, yeah whatever you want-”

Waverly can’t even finish her sentence before Champ is taking his shirt off. She turns away for a moment, shocked, her hand coming up over her eyes as she laughs awkwardly. The other guys start taking off their shirts and pants to change and Waverly makes a surprised face at the camera.

We cut to her interview where she just giggles, eyes wide. “I mean…” she trails off as they show a shot of Chad flexing in a mirror wearing only his boxers before they cut back to Waverly’s interview where she’s fanning herself with her hand. “Wow.”

Finally, all the guys are changed and they head outside where several wooden tubs are set up on a stage. Each one has a mechanism under it that drains into a large tub. Waverly has a glass of wine in her hand as she explains.

“Alright everyone, you’re each going to stand in these tubs and squish the grapes with your feet until your bucket is filled with the juice. The first person to fill up their bucket wins!” Waverly says as the guys bounce excitedly, clapping their hands.

All the guys climb into their buckets and Waverly lounges on a nearby chair. She smiles widely as she takes a long sip of her wine.

“Alright, boys,” she calls from her chair, “Ready. Set. Go!”

They all start stomping away, a few of them slipping and falling into the pile of grapes below them. Waverly laughs in amusement, cringing when Perry goes down particularly hard.

We cut to Perry’s interview. “Yeah...that wasn’t my best moment.”

They all keep going, the buckets slowly get more and more full until a light goes off on Champ’s bucket. He raises his arms in celebration as the other guys look on with disappointed looks on their faces. We cut to Chad’s interview.

“Yeah...I own a winery but I don’t actually smash the grapes,” he excuses himself lamely, “You know, these days there’s machinery for that”

We cut to Champ’s interview where he is seen flexing his arm muscle and kissing it.

Champ gets out of the wine bucket, white outfit covered in purple grape stains. He jumps off the stage and runs over to Waverly as everyone else begrudgingly exit their own buckets. Waverly opens her arms to hug Champ and he picks her up, spinning her around a couple of times before setting her on the ground.

“Congratulations,” Waverly laughs, stumbling a little after being put down. “For your prize, you win the golden grapes!”

She hands him a cheesy little trophy adorned with grapes. Champ takes it and kisses it as if it’s something precious, before draping his arm over Waverly’s shoulders. A couple of cameras come up and take their picture as they stand there. Champ makes deliberate eye contact with Perry who looks less than amused. Then Champ turns to Waverly and leans in, kissing her hard on the mouth. He dips her back, her hands flat on his chest and a smile apparent on the corners of her lips.

We cut to an interview with Perry who just shrugs. “Champ is getting desperate. He knows it. We know it...he’s just using every trick in the book in hopes of sticking around and I hope that Waverly sees that.”

_Later on The Bachelorette Canada!_

All the guys are changed back into their clothes, sitting on some couches with alcohol in hand. Champ stands up and goes to have some alone time with Waverly away from the other guys.

“Good job on winning the grape mashing today!” she said as she adjusts to face Champ on the couch. 

“Thanks, it’s all in the working out. You know?” he brags cockily. He brightens like he suddenly has an idea. “Watch.”

Champ stands up and takes off his jacket. Hey gets on the floor and starts doing quick pushups. Waverly stares at him for a moment, just blinking before she speaks.

“Um-”

“Here, get on my back,” Champ says stopping at the bottom of his push up and looking at her expectantly.

Waverly frowns and shakes her head. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”

“Come on!” he says with his wide, blinding smile.

Waverly gets off the couch, pushes off her shoes and tentatively sits on his back cross legged. She squeals a little in surprise as he starts to do push ups again, a little slower than before but still at a steady pace.

We cut to a shot inside the house where some of the guys, noticeably Chad, are looking out the window and watching. They all bristle, looking annoyed.

“He’s such a tool,” Chad says out loud. Perry nods in agreement and B-Train drains his beer. “He’s not gonna last. There’s no way.”

_Next up on The Bachelorette Canada._

***

Waverly felt the tension on her shoulders like knots in a straining rope as she walked into her room. She groaned and kicked the heels off her feet dramatically. They hit the side of the bed and landed in a pile that Waverly knew she’d end up picking up before she went to bed anyways, but it was nice to pretend she could be messy for a moment. She sat down hard on the bed, mattress creaking around her when she heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Waverly called. Chrissy slid into the room with a smile creeping onto her face.

“So,” she said as she sat on the bed next to Waverly, “it looked like you had a good time today. Ready for the rose ceremony tomorrow?”

Waverly smiled and stood up to get her pajamas. “I did. Everyone seems very sweet.”

Chrissy folded her legs onto the bed, raising an eyebrow at Waverly. “I sense a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

Waverly groaned and cursed her best friend’s intuition as she threw her pajamas on to the bed to start changing. The guys were nice. They were all very nice and very handsome and...Waverly couldn’t shake an odd feeling in her stomach whenever she thought about it. She pulled off her shirt and put her cami over her head with a sigh.

“There’s no ‘but’,” Waverly said, avoiding Chrissy’s eyes, “ _But_...I don’t know. I’m just worried. You know?”

“About what?”

“About...everything. I miss Wynonna, I miss Purgatory, I miss my _job_ ,” Waverly said finishing putting on her pajamas. “Maybe if I could just...talk to Wynonna.”

“No,” Chrissy said sharply, “You know you can’t, Waves.”

Waverly laid back on the bed with a sigh. “Please? Just for five minutes?”

Chrissy looked at her sympathetically and shook her head. “You know it’s against your contract. I can’t.”

She shut her eyes and tried to ignore the tightness in her chest. She knew Chrissy would say no, there was just still that part of her that really hoped she would give her a few minutes on the phone with her sister. Everything was just far more confusing than Waverly originally thought it would be.

There was a phantom twinge of pain in her ankle and she was reminded of Nicole. Was it weird to miss her? Because she did. It had been a little over a day since she’d seen the redhead and Waverly couldn’t keep her mind from wandering to her. Even as hot guys were being paraded in front of her. She always managed to find something that reminded her of Nicole and well...even Waverly could acknowledge that was a little dangerous. She couldn’t help but want to spend more time with Nicole. 

“As you start to get rid of the guys, it’ll get easier,” Chrissy said, misreading Waverly’s thoughts. For once. But Waverly was grateful at least. The last thing she needed was more of Chrissy’s prodding over Nicole.

“You’re right,” Waverly said, drumming her fingers on her stomach, “How many do I have to get rid of tomorrow?”

“Five,” Chrissy reminded her. Waverly sighed and hoped she could remember the names of the five guys she was going to have to get rid of. 

There was a frantic knocking at the door just as Chrissy’s phone buzzed. She picked it up and Waverly went to the door. A flustered looking Jeremy stood on the other side of the door, his headset askew as he smiled at her anxiously.

“Hey, so there’s been an...incident. And they need you in the living room,” he said swinging his arms at his sides.

Waverly frowned, ignoring Chrissy’s hushed talking behind her. “Is everything okay?”

“Um. Yes?” Jeremy flinched. “Yes.”

She felt Chrissy grab her elbow and turned to look at her. She looked stressed, hair already out of place for some reason.

“It’s a good thing you’re wearing your cute pajamas,” Chrissy said before pulling Waverly with her out of the room and towards the living room.

“What’s happening?” Waverly asked. There were crew members bustling around, a few of the guys shuffling anxiously and looking concerned.

Chrissy sighed, “Well, apparently there was an incident-”

“What?” Waverly asked, shocked, “What kind?”

“Mark is going to tell you,” Chrissy said sitting down with Waverly on the couch of the living room as Jeremy started pushing some of the other guys away and back into the rooms. “On camera.”

“What?! Why?”

“Drama. For camera,” Chrissy said shooting her a sympathetic look as cameras set up around her. Mark walked in and smiled at Waverly, sitting on the couch next to her as Chrissy disappeared.

“Hey, you okay?” Mark asked, leaning a little forward so no one could hear them. 

“I...think so?” Waverly chuckled, still overwhelmed. He patted the top of her hand sympathetically as Chrissy called out.

“Rolling?”

“Rolling!”

“Sound?”

“Rolling.”

“Okay, go ahead Mark!”

Waverly’s mouth felt dry and the house fell eerily quiet. She could hear some commotion outside and the distant sound of a siren but that was it.

“Waverly,” Mark started, taking her hand. She squeezed it, finding a weird comfort in it even though she had only talked to the man a couple of times. “So...there was an incident in the house today.”

“What happened?” Waverly said, much weaker than she had hoped.

“There was a fight.”

Waverly swallowed thickly and she shook her head. “I-...why? Who?”

“Jerry is hurt, he has to go to the hospital but he’s okay,” Mark said easily.

Waverly could barely remember Jerry, if she was being honest. But just the idea that some idiots were _fighting_ is what got her. She licked her lips.

“Why? Who?” she asked. “Who did this?”

“It was him and Joe. But Joe claims it was self defense-”

“I want both of them gone,” Waverly said easily. “Tonight. I won’t put up with fighting in this house. Especially fighting that leads to people being put in the hospital.”

A twinge of a smile curled at Mark’s lips, disrupting the solemn look he was so clearly trying to uphold. 

He nodded firmly. “As you wish.”

Waverly sighed and stood up, tired of it all already. “Thank you. I’m going to bed now.”

She walked off and behind her, she heard the cameras moving and shuffling. She could feel one following her as she went but she closed the door on them. After she was alone again, Waverly ran a hand through her hair and blew out a long breath. Well. At least that was two fewer guys she would have to cut loose tomorrow.

***

The rose ceremony went about as well as Waverly thought it might. It was unnecessarily long and awkward. The poor guys had to stand there and ponder their fate between camera setups. One of the guys cried and Waverly had to try really hard not to take it back and tell him he could stay. She was emotionally exhausted and so relieved that she wouldn’t have to see any of the guys for another day.

The next morning, she went on her run, eyes peeled and looking for a certain redhead. Thankfully she didn’t have to look for long. She heard a sharp snapping sound coming from behind the barn and knew it had to be Nicole. Waverly brushed some fly away hairs from her face and jogged behind the barn. 

Her breath caught in surprise when she saw Nicole picking up a log and setting it on a stump, a pile of already split wood next to her. Her back was to Waverly, giving her a very nice view of Nicole’s back in a tank top. Waverly slowed her jog to a stop as Nicole lifted an ax over her head and swung it down onto the log, the muscles in her back moving smoothly under her skin. The log split with an impressive ‘ _crack_ ', both halves falling off of the log as Nicole straightened back up.

Nicole looked over her shoulder, eyes catching on Waverly’s as she smiled at the brunette. Waverly blushed and tried to act casual as she walked over to the fence as if she wasn’t just staring at Nicole splitting wood. Nicole waved before taking off her Stetson, pushing her sweaty hair back from her face before putting the hat back on her head. 

Waverly was _definitely_ not following the muscles in her arms as she did so. Not at all.

“Howdy,” Nicole said, tipping her hat in that stupid way that Waverly loved.

“Hello,” Waverly called, walking up to the small fence that was separating them. She climbed over it, sitting on the top as Nicole approached. “It’s been a while.”

Nicole shrugged, “You’re a busy woman, it seems.” 

Waverly rolled her eyes, watching carefully as Nicole leaned against the fence just a little more than a foot away from her. She could feel herself leaning towards her even if she didn’t mean to. Swinging her legs a little, Waverly tilted her head.

“Yes, well, it’s been a lot of nonsense,” Waverly said.

“You put up with the nonsense for...what exactly?” Nicole teased with a small smile.

“Love,” Waverly joked, eyes wide and sarcastic as she sighed. “But the other day I did get to go to a beautiful winery. I’ve always wanted to go to one. And Chrissy told me they’re going to have us all go skydiving in a few weeks so that sounds _amazing_.”

Nicole nodded slowly, eyes focusing on the scenery behind Waverly. It gave Waverly a chance to look at Nicole, specifically the line of her collarbone and how it was emphasized oh so nicely in the tank top. Her line of sight led her to a silver chain around Nicole’s neck with a simple gold band on the end of it. Waverly blinked, staring at it for a moment as her mind churned with thoughts as to why something that looked a lot like a wedding ring might be hanging from Nicole’s neck.

“The dating is going well then,” Nicole said, unknowingly interrupting Waverly’s thoughts. Waverly couldn’t tell if it was a statement or a question but it made her blush all the same. Part of her hoped there would be a bit of selfish prodding from Nicole’s end, but she wouldn’t trick herself into thinking that.

“I mean,” Waverly sighed and looked down at her knees. “They’re all very nice. And very handsome. I just...I don’t know if I can see my future with any of them. You know?”

Nicole snorted. “Yeah, I know.” Her fingers automatically found the ring around her neck as she looked up at Waverly, her voice more sincere. “Just don’t compromise yourself. Not for some hunk of meat. Not for anyone.”

Waverly watched Nicole’s lips as she talked, at how the words spilled over them and into the air. They tripped through the air and settled over her like a blanket that she took solace in. Her eyes flickered up to Nicole’s and she felt...familiar. But familiar maybe wasn’t the right term. It felt...safe. Like she hadn’t known Nicole for barely a week and knew little to nothing about her except that she had kind, gentle eyes that Waverly wanted to fall in. Or that Waverly was sure there were more muscles under Nicole’s skin than she could see, covered by a layer of softness that she was sure would feel so so good under her fingers. On top of her.

Waverly shivered.

“I’ll...try not to,” Waverly said before frowning, “Er...I won’t.”

“Can I...say something that might be a little...out of line?” Nicole said with a small cringe.

“I feel like I should say no,” Waverly said with a nervous chuckle.

Nicole’s head tipped forward, hair falling a little in her face. “You can if you want.”

“Go ahead,” Waverly said scooting a little closer to Nicole, “Please.”

With a lick of her lips, Nicole looked up at Waverly. “I...feel like you’ve been spending your whole life trying to be who other people wanted you to be. And you’re just now starting to figure out who you really are.”

Waverly blinked at Nicole, fingers pressing into the wood of the fence underneath her. There was something fluttering in her chest. Anxiety? Panic? Something...all together unfamiliar.

“Waverly?” Nicole said, bringing her from her daze. Her brow was wrinkled in worry and Waverly wanted to reach other and smooth it out with her fingers.

“Yes, sorry,” she said clearing her throat. “I guess I just-...I mean, you’re not wrong. I think.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Nicole shut her eyes for a moment. “I just was thinking out loud. I’m sorry-”

Waverly tucked some hair behind her ear and shook her head. She smiled in a way that she hoped was reassuring. “It’s fine. Really. Like I said, you’re not wrong.”

Nicole took her hat off and looked at it, fingers playing along the brim as another strand of hair fell into her face. Waverly’s smile widened when brown eyes met back with hazel.

“You’re a very interesting woman, Waverly Earp,” Nicole said. “If you weren’t on an elaborate, slightly sexist dating show and intending to marry one of the dolts at the end, I might ask you out for coffee.”

Waverly blinked rapidly, a thousand thoughts going through her head. “Wha-?”

Nicole put her hat back on her head and tipped it towards Waverly with a smile as she started to walk backwards away from her.

“Excuse you!” Waverly said. She needed answers. Rather, clarification. Like what would this coffee getting entaill? Was it-...would it have been considered a date? “Where do you think you’re going?”

Nicole laughed and tilted her chin to something behind Waverly. “People are looking for you.”

Like on cue, Jeremy’s voice called out. “Waverly!”

She looked over her shoulder, trying to keep her face neutral and not as annoyed as she felt. Jeremy was jogging towards her, waving at her frantically. “Yes?”

“It’s time to go,” he panted, coming to a stop a few feet away. He bent over and pressed his palms to his knees as he caught his breath.

Waverly looked back over at Nicole who was back to chopping wood. She split a log with another loud crack and stood up, axe on her shoulder and hip jutted out just so as she smirked at Waverly. She growled in frustration, a heat smoothing low in her belly at the sight. Why did Nicole have to be so hot and confusing?

“Coming!” Waverly sighed, hopping off the fence and walking back towards Jeremy, the sound of Nicole splitting wood fading back into the distance.

***

That night, Waverly found herself distracted. To say the least. 

They had put her in a speed dating type situation with the guys. They were all at their own tables and every fifteen minutes she would switch tables. Then she would have to give the first impression rose to whichever guy she thought was the most interesting.

All of the guys were on their best behavior, being extra charming and witty in all their conversations. There was just one problem. Waverly’s mind couldn’t help but wander to Nicole and the conversation that they had had before Waverly was ushered away to get dressed for her dates. 

Her mind ran through different scenarios and what could have happened. What would have happened if she said she would love to go for that coffee? Or if she had just...leaned forward and kissed her? Would it all have been really that bad? Either way, Waverly was thoroughly distracted. At the end of the night, she gave the first impression rose to Champ which meant that he got to “walk her home”. Really that just meant take an extra long walk around the property until they got to the back door of the house.

On the walk, Champ took her hand in his. His hand was big and engulfed her own, palms sweaty and also sticky for some unknown reason. But it was nice. Champ was nice, like always. Something about his aftershave with the slight undertones of sweat reminded Waverly of Purgatory. Of the life she was sure most people had expected of her by now. Marriage and babies. Lots of babies.

They took the path through the field, getting closer to the barn. It was oddly intimate even with the multiple cameras that were following them. Waverly saw a faint light shining through one of the top windows of the barn. Waverly wondered if Nicole was sitting up there reading or watching television. 

Champ stopped with her in front of the barn, an arm creeping over Waverly’s shoulder as they looked up at the full moon. 

“It’s beautiful,” Waverly said softly.

“It is,” Champ said. A small pause before he continued. “So are you, you know.”

Waverly couldn’t help her blush and she leaned a little into his side. He was a sweet boy. Not all that smart but _sweet_.

“Thank you,” she said looking down at her feet shyly. With the hand that wasn’t smothering Waverly’s, Champ put his hand on her cheek and tilted her face up towards his. He practically lunged forward to kiss her. His lips were chapped and the kiss was all too firm. Waverly put her hand on his chest and leaned back a little but he followed her and took it as encouragement. His tongue slipped into her mouth and she pulled back as nicely as she could, hand firm on Champ’s chest to keep him from following her lips again.

He smiled at her and she smiled back.

“That was amazing,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Waverly said simply. Something in the barn window caught Waverly’s eye and she looked over his shoulder just in time to see the curtain move.

***

“It was clearly stated in the contract that they weren’t to be let loose on the property.”

The familiar voice woke Waverly up the next morning. She lay there trying to place it for a moment, still half asleep.

“And look what happens when they’re left to their own devices!”

Nicole.

She couldn’t help the way her heart thrilled at the sound of her voice. Even with the slight anger in her tone giving it a harder edge. Admittedly, she wanted to see Nicole. To wander out of her room and pretend she hadn’t heard whatever disagreement was going on with her and probably one of the producers. Plus her curiosity was getting the better of her. Waverly’s fingers flexed in the sheets and she wondered how quickly she could get up and make it look casual that she was outside of her bedroom. Waverly sat up quickly in the bed, running a hand through her messy hair and swinging her legs off the mattress as she listened.

“I’m really sorry,” she could hear Chrissy say, “we didn’t think that this would happen-”

“That’s the problem! No one in this house thinks,” Nicole said firmly.

Waverly padded out of bed and slowly opened the door, her curiosity getting the better of her. She straightened out her tank top and turned the corner to the kitchen. As soon as she saw Nicole leaning with both hands on the countertop, Waverly tugged at the hem of her shorts nervously. She really hadn’t thought this through.

“Nicole, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” Chrissy apologized from the other side of the counter. 

Waverly walked cautiously up to the two, trying not to let her eyes linger on Nicole for too long. She could feel the tension in the room and her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. 

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly, her voice getting higher at the end as she tried to dissipate some of the...whatever was happening here.

Nicole looked like she’d just noticed Waverly standing there, not doing a very good job of hiding the fact that her gaze had darted down Waverly’s form before catching her eyes. Waverly warmed under Nicole’s look, her stomach bumping into the edge of the marble countertop as she leaned against it. The line of Nicole’s jaw was tense and Waverly wanted to stroke it until she relaxed. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and looked between the two.

Nicole finally looked back at Chrissy with an expectant raise of her eyebrow. “Want to tell her?”

Chrissy’s nostrils flared as she looked at Waverly. “Some of the guys got drunk last night and...decided to engage in some less than savory activities.”

“They tried tipping my cows,” Nicole said, “But the idiots didn’t realize it was a myth and ended up spooking them instead. Something else I don’t take kindly to. They spooked ‘em and the cows broke the fence. But the most important thing is now I have stressed out cows.”

Waverly frowned and shook her head. “I-...who was it?”

Nicole scoffed. “One of your idiot boyfriends. I don’t know.”

Waverly physically took a step back as if Nicole’s words had pushed her. Her chest tightened, lungs coming up short on air like she had been smacked in the face. Something about the sharpness in Nicole’s tone just...set her back. Nicole sighed and ran a hand over her face. She shut her eyes and took a breath before looking back at Waverly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap I’m just...frustrated,” Nicole said, eyes wide and pleading. Waverly’s arms loosened, her hands dropping to the counter in front of her.

“It’s fine,” Waverly whispered. Nicole reached forward across the counter, hand covering Waverly’s. She felt goosebumps erupt over her skin and her thumb gently reached up to stroke the side of Nicole’s hand.

Chrissy interrupted, “We’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

It was like Nicole remembered someone else was in the room and she quickly moved her hand away from Waverly’s. Without thinking, Waverly reached again for Nicole’s, their fingers just barely brushing before Nicole stood straight and her hand fell off the counter.

“Thank you,” Nicole said looking back at Chrissy. “Just control them, yeah?”

“We will,” Chrissy said with a serious nod. “Promise.”

With one final nod, Nicole looked back at Waverly and smiled shyly. “I’ll see you around, Waves.”

“See you,” Waverly said with a little wave that stayed low by her hip. One that she immediately regretted. Her eyes followed Nicole out of the kitchen, sighing when she disappeared. Chrissy cleared her throat and Waverly blushed, looking over at her friend.

“What was that?” Chrissy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“What was...what?” Waverly asked, going into the fridge to pull out some yogurt.

Chrissy didn’t say anything but her eyebrow crept up higher. Waverly shrugged, shaking her head like she didn’t understand.

“Waves. A love story basically played out in front of my face just now,” Chrissy said just above a whisper. “Both of you just gave the other puppy dog eyes back and forth.”

Waverly paused for a moment and looked up at Chrissy. “She was...giving me puppy dog eyes?”

Chrissy shook her head. “That bitch is head over heels for you.”

“Really?” Waverly asked as she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Chrissy gave her a knowing look.

“You know who else is head over heels for you?” Chrissy said. “Those fifteen guys left in this house.”

Waverly blushed, opening the drawer in search of a spoon. “I know! I just...was curious.”

“Well stop being curious,” Chrissy said, “You have a month left in this house and you can’t choose a guy if you’re trying to flirt with Nicole instead.”

“I know,” Waverly grumbled, “And I’m not trying to flirt.”

Chrissy pulled her phone out, suddenly disinterested. “Sure, Waves.”

Waverly stuck her tongue out at Chrissy as she walked back towards her room with her yogurt. As soon as she was out of sight of her friend, she let the small hopeful smile she’d been holding light up her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	5. High Heeled Boots and Painted-On Jeans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week, Nicole is _riding a bull_ in a Stetson. Enjoy!
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

Waverly did her usual morning jog past the barn the next day expecting to see Nicole. But she had no such luck. No Nicole behind the barn, no Nicole splitting wood, no Nicole engaged in whatever new physical activity Waverly was sure would kill her because of how sexy it all was. 

Sweat dripped down the side of Waverly’s face and stung the annoying burn on her cheek from Champ’s sloppy kiss the night before. Some of his whiskers scratched her cheek and while it wasn’t noticeable, it was annoying as all hell. 

Waverly practically strained her eyeballs trying to catch a glimpse of Nicole in the top window of the barn. But again, nothing. For a moment, Waverly considered knocking on the door of the barn. Maybe she could...just ask a simple question. Something innocent like...how big the property was? 

She rolled her eyes at just the thought and kept jogging, the barn at her back.

***

Chrissy told Waverly to make sure she was wearing jeans or shorts for the group date tonight, and she certainly wasn’t going to argue with that. She could finally be comfortable with whatever it was they were doing and not worry about accidentally flashing the camera. So Waverly slipped on some shorts and a Western style shirt that the wardrobe woman laid out for her along with some cowboy boots.

It was pretty clear there was a theme for the night. Waverly was actually fairly surprised that they didn’t make her wear some kind of ridiculous belt buckle to go along with the whole ensemble.

Jeremy was hovering outside her room, per usual, and escorted Waverly to a production car waiting out front.

“I thought we were staying on the property,” Waverly inquired as Jeremy ushered her into the car, sliding into the seat beside her.

“Oh, we are,” Jeremy said with a nod as the car started driving. “We’re just going way out on the property. Too far to walk.”

Waverly frowned, “How big is the ranch?”

“About two thousand acres,” Jeremy said casually. Waverly gawked at him for a moment, playing with the end of her braid. She hadn’t realized the property was so large. Plenty of great wide open for Nicole to take off into when she wasn’t around in the mornings.

A few moments later, they pulled up to a clearing where there were a bunch of lights set up and some kind of fence erected in the middle of them. Chrissy and Lucado were there to collect Waverly as soon as the van stopped.

“Hey, Waves,” Chrissy said with her usual friendly smile. Her eyes roamed over her and she nodded in approval. “You look great.”

“Thanks,” Waverly said returning her smile. “I feel a little…”

“Like you’re back home?” Chrissy teased. “Now come on, let me show you what you’re doing for your group date today. And we maaay have a surprise.”

Chrissy wiggled her eyebrows and led Waverly to the middle of the lights. A mechanical bull was set up in the middle of the lights with padding and a little fence around it. Off to the side there was a bar set up and Rosita standing behind it looking smug as hell. Waverly’s heart stuttered with excitement in her chest as she ran towards her friend with a squeal. They threw their arms around each other in a hug. 

Waverly swore she could smell Shorty’s on Rosita, smell home. The stale beer and wood bar. She knew she was going crazy but she just missed the familiarity of home. Going on adventures was great and all, but she liked a nice balance. 

“What are you doing here?” Waverly asked, holding Rosita at arms length to look at her. 

Rosita beamed back and shrugged. “Chrissy said they wanted you to have a friend on the show this week. And Wynonna is busy with...cabbage season.”

Waverly snorted, hands still on Rosita’s arms like she would disappear if she let go. Chrissy came up next to them, her own beaming smile on her face. 

“And, Rosie’s flight isn’t until tomorrow which means we can all hang out tonight,” Chrissy whispered, looking over her shoulder for Rosita. 

Rosita gasped and shook Waverly a little. “You have to tell me everything.”

“Yes, _after_ the group date,” Chrissy said with a wink. 

Rosita squeezed Waverly’s arm as Jeremy came to collect Waverly again. She waved a small goodbye to Rosita as she took her spot behind the makeshift bar and Waverly was ushered to the front of the mechanical bull set up. 

Waverly cast a hopeful glance around the set for a head of red hair, but nothing. She tried to push the bitter taste of disappointment down and focused on Lucado who had come to give her direction. 

“If you haven’t figured it out already, the boys are going to ride this monstrosity,” she said dryly, gesturing to the bull behind Waverly. “The person who manages to stay on the longest without dying will win.”

“Okay,” Waverly said pointing to Rosita behind the bar. “And how does she come in.”

“She’ll be serving everyone drinks while they make fun of whoever’s going,” Lucado answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Of course,” Waverly said, clasping her hands in front of her. 

Lucado froze for a moment, hand to the barely noticable headset in her ear. “Alright. The boys are coming up now. You ready, Earp?”

“Sure!” Waverly said rocking on her heels with a smile. “Ready to...do some bull riding!”

***

Overly honky-tonk music played as the camera opened on the mechanical bull. It cut to Waverly walking up to it and immediately noticing Rosita behind the bar. They run towards each other and squeal, their talking muffled in the microphone by their embrace. 

“You have to tell me everything,” Rosita says before Waverly slips off and is immediately greeting the guys. They all pile out of a van dressed in various cowboy outfits. The overall theme is fitted western shirts and boots. 

Champ practically swaggers off the bus, his plaid shirt unbuttoned to mid-chest and the sleeves pegged and rolled tightly over his biceps. His fingers hooked into his belt and a large gaudy belt buckle sticking out from his outfit like a sore thumb. 

It cuts to Champ’s interview where he’s smirking, cowboy hat tipped back on his head. “This belt buckle is for the North American Bull Riding Championships that I won two years ago. I’m going to mop the floor with the rest of the guys tonight. I’m going to show Waverly that uh...if she’s looking for a good rider…well,” Champ winks at the camera, “she won’t have to look much farther.”

“I’m so excited!” Waverly says in her interview, “My best friend is here, there’s drinking and bull riding. It’s like being back home. And it came right when I was starting to feel homesick. It’s perfect.”

The guys all whoop and holler as they look at the mechanical bull, chests puffing. Chad picks Waverly up around the waist and she giggles when he sets her up on the fence. She crosses her legs and holds onto the fence as the guys hang on her every word. 

“Today’s fun group activity is going to be bull riding,” she said as the guys cheered. “So whoever is the best at riding-“

Waverly stopped, blushing as some of the guys wolf whistled. She jokingly motioned for them to stop and continued.

“Whoever is the best at _bull_ riding and stays on the longest, gets this lovely belt buckle!”

Waverly reaches behind her and picks up a belt with a comically large buckle on it. Cast in silver with gold accents, it has a rose on it and “The Bachelorette” in script around it. The guys rub their hands together in anticipation. 

“Pretty sure that belt buckle is mine,” Perry says with a smile in his interview. “I’m stronger than I look.”

It cuts back to Waverly on the fence, smile bright. “Are you all ready?”

All the guys cheer and Waverly claps in excitement. “Good! Let’s go to the bar. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Waverly leads them to the bar where Rosita is standing, looking at home with a rag over her shoulder.

“Hello, boys!” she says with a wave at them. Waverly walks behind the bar next to Rosita. 

“This is my best friend Rosita! She came all the way here to serve her amazing drinks, help me choose a winner today and offer her support.”

“Hi, Rosita!” the guys echo. 

Cut to Champ’s interview. “My number one is Waverly. Always. But...damn.”

Camera cuts to a close up of Champ with his eyes roaming over Rosita. 

Rosita lined a bunch of shot glasses on the bar and poured whiskey shots for everyone. Rosita passed one to Waverly and held one up herself as all the guys grabbed one for themselves. 

“Good luck!” Waverly said before tipping the shot back. The guys cheered, all following suit and the camera cuts away. 

_Later in The Bachelorette Canada!_

B-train is thrown from the bull almost immediately. 

Chad holds on for a little bit but the machine jerks and he falls off the side. 

Champ gets in the bull and holds on expertly, smiling as it jerks around and everyone cheers him on. Including Waverly. 

Perry stands at the end of the bar with Rosita. They’re close together and the camera is far away, only catching their dialogue in the microphones. 

“I just think maybe he’s not here for the right reasons,” Perry says. 

We cut to a shot of Champ back leaning against the fence around the bull. His hips are jutted outwards to show off his belt buckle. Waverly is standing next to him talking to him. 

Champ says, “You can touch it if you want.” He winks at Waverly who just laughs. 

We cut back to Perry and Rosita. Rosita pours him a drink as she asks, “What makes you think that?”

“He’s said some...not great things,” Perry says. 

Champ shakes his head in his interview. He’s obviously irritated as he speaks. “Listen, people are obviously jealous of me. They’re threatened because they see me and Waves bonding and they know they should be scared.”

_Later on The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

They guys were shuffled off to the side where they were doing quick interviews before they got into the van back to the house. While one was being interviewed, the others just hung around in that general area and weren’t allowed to interact with Waverly. So Waverly finally let herself get a little tipsy. She was sitting at the fake bar with Rosita, both of them with whiskey tumblers in front of them. The crew was going around and breaking down lights and cords. Chrissy was running around with Lucado and doing god knows what. Jeremy stood next to the bar, doing his duty and not letting Waverly out of his sight. 

“Jeremy, do you want a drink?” Waverly asked as she took a sip of her own. “I can make you something.”

Jeremy shook his head. “Oh no. I’m fine, thank you. Working-“

He pointed to the headset around his ear with an awkward smile.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” Rosita said with a smirk. 

Jeremy laughed but still shook his head. “No. Thank you. Lucado’s pretty...terrifying. I don’t want to risk it.”

“Wise man,” Rosita said finishing off her whiskey. She reached behind the bar for the bottle and poured herself another. They watched as one of the camera guys got on the bull, other crew members cheering him as it bucked. 

“Hey, pretty lady. What are you doing in a seedy place like this?”

Nicole’s voice came soft in Waverly’s ear, her breath just barely tickling the shell of her ear and giving Waverly goosebumps. She suppressed a shiver and looked over at Nicole who was getting on the stool next to her. 

Waverly smiled, elbows back on the bar in a way that she knew made her breasts look great. 

“Hey, cowgirl,” she said, surprising herself with how deep her voice had gotten. “Just enjoying the sights.”

“Ah, I see,” Nicole said, eyes darting not so subtly over Waverly’s frame. Rosita leaned forward to get a look at Nicole and Waverly blushed, just remembering she was there. 

“This is my best friend Rosita,” Waverly said. “Rosita, this is Nicole. She owns the ranch.” Nicole reached her hand out in front of Waverly, smile blinding as she shook Rosita’s hand. 

“Pleasure.”

“Same,” Rosita said. She looked at Waverly with a knowing smirk while Waverly tried to ignore her. She cleared her throat and reached behind the bar for another glass. She held it up and smiled at Nicole. 

“Drink?”

“Sure. I’ll have whatever it is you’re having,” Nicole said. Waverly poured her some whiskey and tried not to swoon as Nicole took a sip, her eyes never leaving her own. 

“Up to your standards?” Waverly asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Nicole squinted like she was thinking and shrugged. “I suppose it’ll do. The company makes up for it.”

Waverly blushed and pulled her eyes away from Nicole’s to look back as the camera guy was bucked off the bull. Nicole snorted into her drink and muttered. 

“City folk.”

Waverly felt a smile crawl on her lips as she looked back at the redhead. “You think you can do better?”

“Oh, darlin’, I know I can,” Nicole said with a cocky smirk. “What was the longest one of your boys stayed on?”

Waverly thought for a moment. “Champ. One minute,” Waverly said with a raised eyebrow. 

Nicole rolled her eyes. “Isn’t he supposed to be a rodeo boy? What an embarrassment.”

“How long can you stay on?” Waverly asked. 

“Longer than a minute.”

“Prove it.”

Nicole looked at her for a moment, brown eyes locking with hazel. She leaned a little closer to Waverly, her voice dropping as she asked, “What will I get when I do?”

Waverly’s heart was beating so loudly that she was positive every person in a mile radius could hear it. Nicole was too damn good at this whole...flirting thing. Waverly would always look like an idiot in comparison. Like right now when she couldn’t think of a witty response, let alone the breath to say it.

“You can name your prize,” Waverly said with her own challenging smile. She silently cursed herself for not thinking about anything better, but now she had to commit to that one. Nicole squinted at Waverly, eyes stuck on each other again. Every moment their eyes stayed locked, Waverly was sure her temperature was rising. Nicole, still never breaking eye contact, finished off her whiskey in one long pull and dropped the glass back onto the table.

“I will,” she said fixing her hat on her head and pushing off the bar top. Waverly couldn’t help but appreciate how well Nicole’s jeans fit as she walked away, eyes falling below her belt before Rosita interrupted her thoughts by clearing her throat. Waverly looked over at her friend who was now displaying the biggest shit eating grin she’d ever seen. And she lived with Wynonna.

“What?” Waverly said as a blush crept up her neck.

“Oh, you have it bad for the redhead,” Rosita said knowingly, nodding slowly.

Waverly scoffed and shook her head one too many times to be natural in any way. 

“No, I don’t,” she clarified, “I just-...she’s...nice.”

“I bet she’s nice alright,” Rosita said, slipping off the stool and starting towards the fence closer to the bull. “Come on, let’s go watch how your girl can ride.”

“What?” Waverly squeaked, ears redder than they had ever been as she cast a glance at Jeremy who was just as red. He was avoiding Waverly’s eyes, finding a spot on the ground far too interesting. Waverly hopped off her stool and practically ran after Rosita, bumping into her a little bit when she caught up to her. They both laughed as they leaned up against the fence. But then Waverly looked up and the laughter died in her throat.

Nicole swaggered up to the bull, sliding her boots into the stirrups and swinging her leg over the fake saddle strapped to a machine that only looked vaguely like a bull. But damn, if it wasn’t one of the sexiest things Waverly had ever seen. Not _the_ sexiest thing she had ever seen. That came right afterwards when Nicole tipped her hat back, rolled her hips forward to adjust herself on the saddle and gripped the handle at the front of the saddle so tightly that her forearm muscle rippled out from under her half rolled sleeve.

Waverly wished she had brought her drink with her, because her mouth was suddenly so dry she could barely swallow.

Rosita leaned a little into her with a smirk and whispered, “Hey, Waves, you got a bit of drool right there-”

Waverly pushed Rosita’s hand down from where she was pointing at the corner of her mouth.

“Shut up,” Waverly said, “I am not.”

“Sure. And Wynonna’s sober.”

Waverly shot Rosita a look before she turned back towards the bull. Nicole smiled at her, tipping her chin to her just as the bull started to move. 

“Don’t go easy on me,” Nicole shouted at the operator. “I want you to work it the same way you did with those guys.”

The operator, looking more than done with his job, just threw her a thumbs up and punched in some buttons. Waverly stared, practically mesmerized by how Nicole rolled with the machine. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, lips parted and every few seconds Waverly could see her tongue poke out to wet her lips. It shouldn’t have looked as graceful as it did. The guys all looked so dumb flopping around on the bull, like a large dog shaking a guy shaped toy around. Even Champ. But Nicole just looked like she was following the movements of the bull. Nicole was actually _riding_ it. The guys had just been desperately following its movements in an attempt not to get thrown off. 

Waverly could see the vein in her neck popping, whole arm bulging even under the plaid sleeve. She was so fixated that she didn’t even notice when the big timer counted up to one minute and thirty seconds, signalling the end of the ride. But she did notice Rosita letting out a long, low whistle afterwards.

The bull slowed down and Nicole’s eyes automatically found Waverly’s, that damn smirk seemingly a permanent fixture on her face. She walked over the padding around the bull and straight up to Waverly on the other side of the fence. Nicole took her hat off her head, fingers playing with the edge of the brim as she stopped in front of Waverly.

“Huh. Looks like I beat your boys,” Nicole said casually, gesturing over her shoulder at the timer. 

“Looks like you did,” Waverly said, trying to remain unaffected even with the blush on her cheeks. She shifted uncomfortably, blushing even more when she realized there was a new pressure between her legs that definitely wasn’t there before Nicole’s little stunt.

“Guess I get my prize now,” Nicole said with a tilt of her head.

“Guess so,” Waverly said, immediately feeling a heat low in her stomach. “What do you want?”

Nicole’s grin only got wider and Waverly was sure this was it. All the blatant flirting and just general sexiness was finally going to come to an end because Nicole was going to kiss her. Just kiss her and put an end to her sweet sweet torture. 

Instead, Nicole said, “I’ll let you know.”

Waverly blinked, completely taken back. Good thing she hadn’t started pursing her lips like she had thought of doing. Nicole was still grinning and Waverly huffed a little bit.

“I mean, it’s not _that_ impressive that you beat them,” Waverly said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Women are always better at everything.”

Nicole raised a challenging brow. “Yeah? So why don’t you beat the time?”

“I will,” Waverly said with smirk that matched Nicole’s. “I will right now.”

Nicole sat her hat on Waverly’s head and winked at her. “Alright then, let’s giddy up, cowgirl.”

Rosita just kept that infuriating smile on her face as Waverly walked around the fence to the entrance. She stepped up on the padding, stumbling a little awkwardly and blushing at her misstep before righting herself. She pulled herself onto the bull, the saddle sticking to her mostly bare thighs a little uncomfortably.

Nicole stood on the inside of the gate still, elbows back against it. Waverly was vaguely aware of a few camera guys scrambling to get their equipment when they saw her on the machine, but she was so focused on Nicole that she hardly noticed. She adjusted Nicole’s hat on her head, gripped the saddle and nodded at the operator.

“Don’t take it easy on me either,” Waverly said firmly.

“Maybe a little easy!” Chrissy shouted from...wherever she was.

“Don’t listen to her,” Waverly said under her breath to the operator, throwing him a sly wink. He looked just as bored as he did when Nicole climbed on the machine. He just threw her the same noncommittal thumbs up and pushed a few buttons on the control board.

The bull began to move under her and Waverly tightened her grip on the saddle. She tried to find the rhythm of rolling with the movements instead of against them but still found herself jerking around a little bit. She didn’t want to look up from where she was staring at her hand gripping the handle, so she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Each second could have been five and she wouldn’t have noticed. Waverly tightened the grip of her thighs. She felt pretty good about herself, even if the alcohol in her system was making her feel extra confident. 

She added a bit of a show to it, holding the hat on her head and rolling her hips a little more than necessary. But it ended up being her downfall when the bull jerked in the opposite direction and Waverly’s hand slipped out of the loop a little. Before she could get her grip back, the bull jerked the other direction and she felt herself fly off the saddle.

Waverly landed with an ‘oomph’ on the pads, more stunned than anything. She could hear some whooping and hollering but her ears were ringing a little so she didn’t register it. She turned on her back, the production lights blinding her a little as she blinked.

“Shitballs,” Waverly gasped. A shadow covered her face and she blinked as her eyes adjusted. Nicole was hovering over her, concern etched on her features. Waverly’s head was light and she smiled a little dreamily.

“Hey.”

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked. She was on her knees besides Waverly, leaning forward with her hands on either side of her body. Nicole’s hat was askew on Waverly’s head, basically off, so Waverly picked it up and placed it back on Nicole’s head. The redhead blinked at Waverly for a moment before her own smile grew. “Is that a yes?”

“I’m fine,” Waverly said, tracing the brim of Nicole’s hat briefly before realizing what she was doing and dropping her hand immediately. “Did I beat you?”

“Sure,” Nicole said, still not moving. Not that Waverly minded at all. She liked how it looked...felt...with Nicole over her like this. It wasn’t the closest their faces had ever been but it just felt...intimate. Waverly shifted her hand and accidently brushed the back of Nicole’s, her flush deepening and the fire in her belly only grew.

Waverly glanced at the clock and she gasped, hitting Nicole’s arm.

“Forty-five seconds! I sucked!” Waverly said, throwing Nicole a look like it was her fault. “You lied to me.”

“Ow! First of all, you did not suck,” Nicole said rubbing the spot where Waverly hit her. “Second, I gave you extra points for style.”

Waverly blushed and wondered what would happen if she just...leaned up a little and brought her face to Nicole’s. Well, it probably wouldn’t be good with all the other people watching. Waverly sat up and Nicole sat back on her haunches, putting her hand on Waverly’s arm lightly.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nicole asked softly.

Waverly pushed some hair behind her ear that had come loose from her braid. “I’m positive,” Waverly answered. “Only my pride is bruised.”

“Hey, you still did better than half the guys from what I hear,” Nicole said standing and offering her hand to Waverly. She took it and let Nicole pull her up from the padding. When she stood up, their bodies were close and _good god_ Nicole smelled amazing. And her hand felt so...strong. Waverly squeezed it for a moment before dropping their hands and heading back out of the round pen.

She made eye contact with Rosita whose eyebrows had basically disappeared into her hairline. Waverly gave her a look, pleading her to please...please not say anything embarrassing. Thankfully Rosita just smiled and Waverly knew _exactly_ what that smile meant.

Waverly could feel the warmth of Nicole’s hand hovering over the small of her back as they walked back to where Rosita was standing against the fence.

“Wow, Waves,” Rosita said, “You looked good. Right, Nicole?”

Waverly tried to subtly pinch Rosita’s hip but her friend pushed her hand away before she could. 

“Um, yeah,” Nicole said, rubbing the back of her neck. “I guess it’s hard to imagine Waverly not looking good doing everything. That’s why she’s here, right?”

Waverly shrugged, trying to keep her embarrassment down before she made it worse. She was a fucking mess. A complete mess. She tucked another non existent piece of hair behind her ear nervously and looked up just in time to watch Nicole lick her lips slowly. Waverly’s shorts felt far too tight all of a sudden.

_Cheeseballs._

Jeremy came up to Waverly and smiled between the three before focusing on the brunette.

“So, um, Chrissy wants me to take you back to the house,” Jeremy said, fingers tapping on the clipboard nervously. “She basically said to get you out of here before you hurt yourself.”

“I’m not going to hurt myself,” Waverly huffed as they walked back towards the bar. Rosita reached behind the bar and picked up the partially drunk bottle of whiskey, wiggling her eyebrows at Waverly. Her eyes darted over to Nicole and she smiled sweetly.

“So, Nicole,” Rosita said, “Want to join us back at the house?”

Nicole looked at Waverly for a moment and Waverly’s breathing got more shallow. She felt her body leaning a little towards Nicole, practically begging her to spend more time with them. Waverly’s fingers itched to reach out and touch Nicole so she hooked her thumbs in the belt loops of her shorts to keep herself in check.

“I um...shouldn’t,” Nicole said with an apologetic smile, looking back at Rosita. She set her hat on the top of the bar and ran a hand through her hair. Waverly’s eyes followed as her fingers raked through her hair, the lights catching the copper strands.

“Come on, cowgirl, it’ll be fun,” Rosita said, nudging Nicole’s hip with her own.

Nicole rubbed the back of her neck, shaking her head. “I have to be up early tomorrow. And I’m already past my bedtime,” she said. “Maybe next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Rosita said with a wink. Waverly leaned back against the bar, not quite ready to leave yet. Not if Nicole was still here. She couldn’t help thinking about how Nicole was leaning over her not too long ago. It might have been perfect if they weren’t out in public.

“Yeah, we’ll hold you to that,” Waverly teased, bringing Nicole’s attention back to her. Nicole smiled, dimples deep on her cheek as she took a step closer to Waverly, the tips of their boots touching.

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind,” Nicole said lowly. She leaned forward and Waverly felt her breath catch as her eyes stayed locked on Nicole’s. One of her hands brushed past Waverly’s arm and rested on the bar behind her. Nicole’s eyes darted down to Waverly’s lips and she felt her entire body start on fire. 

“Remember,” Nicole said even more softly, “I still get a prize.” 

Nicole winked at Waverly and pulled back, hat in her hand as she set it on her head. Her eyes finally left Waverly’s and she tipped it at Rosita. 

“It was nice to meet you.”

“You too,” Rosita said with her own smirk. Waverly watched Nicole walk away until she got in a truck just at the edge of everything. She sighed and looked back over at Rosita who looked way too pleased with herself. Waverly sobered quickly and rolled her eyes.

“Let’s go, Jeremy,” Waverly said starting towards the van with Jeremy running behind. Rosita caught up with Waverly, hooking their arms together.

“Oh my god,” she said softly, “You have it so fucking bad for her.”

“No, I don’t,” Waverly lied. She looked behind her to make sure no one was listening in as they walked. She pulled Rosita a little closer and whispered back. “Okay, maybe I do...just a little bit.”

“Just a little bit?” Rosita scoffed, “You were practically eye fucking her the entire time. I thought you were going to just rip your clothes off right there.”

Waverly sputtered. “It wasn’t that-...I wasn’t that bad.”

“Just a little bit,” Rosita said. “And she’s super into you too.”

Waverly clamped down her need to squeal and make Rosita tell her everything she noticed from Nicole. They were getting close to the van and they’d be in there with Chrissy and Lucado. Who could never know Waverly was even thinking of someone else.

“I just...don’t say anything to Chrissy, okay?” Waverly whispered to Rosita. “I can’t let her think I have a thing for someone who isn’t one of the guys.”

“But it’s so obvious!”

“It’s not that obvious...is it?” 

“Pretty obvious.”

“Fuck.”

“Yes. It’s _very_ obvious you want to do that, too,” Rosita smirked.

Waverly rolled her eyes and pushed Rosita away from her a little bit as she blushed.

“Shut up,” she muttered, trying to hold back her smile.

***

“Waves,” Chrissy slurred a little as she poured herself another shot of whiskey, “For real. What’s up with you and Nicole?”

Waverly blushed and tried to hide her panic by taking another sip of her drink. She crossed her legs in front of her and shrugged. “What do you mean?”

Chrissy raised an eyebrow at Waverly and leaned back on the pillows next to Rosita who was nursing her own drink.

“I mean, what’s going on between you two?” Chrissy asked again.

“Nothing,” Waverly said a little too easily as she poured another drink. They had almost killed the entire bottle of whiskey between the three of them, all of them feeling more than a little tipsy.

Chrissy scoffed. “Don’t lie to me. Talk to me like a friend.”

“I am!” Waverly insisted. Her stomach twisted at her own lie so she tried to ignore it. She didn’t need her drunken guilt to betray her. Brown eyes looked over at Rosita who was staring very intently at her own glass. 

“She’s nice, that’s it,” Waverly shrugged.

Chrissy hummed in disbelief, squinting at Waverly. “I love you, Waves, you know that,” she began, “But there’s a lot on the line here.”

“I told you, Chrissy-”

“Wait. Let me finish-” Chrissy said as she cleared her throat dramatically. “I want you...to be happy. But you can’t form relationships off camera. It’s your ass _and_ my ass on the line here.”

“Chrissy,” Rosita interrupted, “Come on. She said there’s nothing happening.”

Chrissy turned to Rosita. “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice something between the two of them. I’m surprised Waverly didn’t slide off the seat of that mechanical bull with how wet she was.”

Waverly blushed deeply and threw a pillow at Chrissy. She tried to bat it away but was a few seconds too late with her reflexes. Rosita snorted a little in laughter and Waverly shot her a look too.

“I’m just being honest!” Chrissy defended.

“You’re being gross,” Waverly pointed out.

Chrissy continued. “I’m just saying, it would be a breach of contract on your part if you were fraternizing with someone else that wasn’t on the show in...that way. The sexual way.”

“I get it!” Waverly said before Chrissy could say something else that embarrassed her. “I promise you, no...fraternizing is happening. Okay?”

It wasn’t a lie. Not really. Flirting certainly wasn’t against her contract or whatever Waverly was trying to say. They couldn’t police her crushes. Plus, Waverly was only partially convinced that Nicole felt the same pull towards her that she felt.

“Okay,” Chrissy said, her voice high with distrust, “I’m just saying.”

“Well stop ‘just saying’,” Waverly said taking a long sip and letting the alcohol burn her throat. It was fine. This was all...just fine. And she definitely wasn’t going to be thinking about Nicole tonight after Chrissy left and Rosita fell asleep. Not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	6. Please Don't Stop Loving Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week, some secrets are spilled! Waverly and Nicole get closer by a stream. Enjoy!
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

The guys are sitting in the living room, all squished onto the couch in a way that’s clearly staged. Perry walks into the room with an envelope in his hand and everyone pays attention to him.

“We got a note from Waverly, you guys,” he says as he opens it. All the guys seem excited, waiting on the edge of their seat as he reads. “Get your bathing suits ready, because we’re headed to the beach this week! Signed, Waverly.”

The end of Perry’s sentence is drowned out by all the other guys cheering and giving each other high fives. There’s a montage of them all piling into a van, then a bunch of shots of a beautiful coastal area and a house right on the water. Waverly is standing outside the door , wearing a bathing suit and a sarong around her hips, just as the guys get off the bus. They all walk to where she is, smiling widely.

“Hi, everyone!” she says, clapping her hands in front of her in excitement. “Welcome to Prince Edward Island, home of the Singing Sands Beach! We’re going to be spending an entire week here and I can’t wait to get to know you all better in this beautiful area. So go ahead and get settled and I’ll be seeing you shortly.”

The guys walk into the beach house behind her and the camera cuts to a title card, Waverly smiling at the camera as _The Bachelorette Canada_ fades over her.

_Later tonight on The Bachelorette Canada!_

The camera cuts to Waverly with a bunch of the guys on the beach. The guys are in bathing suits, muscles out and glistening. There’s an obstacle course set up and all the guys stand around anxiously.

Cut to Champ’s interview where he shrugs, his usual smug self. “I just don’t know why these guys keep trying when it’s obvious I’m going to win all these physical challenges.”

Waverly’s interview comes up and she smiles widely. “Honestly, I’m the real winner here because all these guys look really good in their bathing suits.” Cuts to a shot of Perry and B-Train comparing muscles. Chad makes his pecs jump individually to a weird rhythm. It cuts back to Waverly’s interview where she’s still smiling and nodding. “Really good.”

_And then, tensions will be high on a duo date-_

Chad is standing next to Perry who’s just lounging on a loveseat in the middle of the beach. They both look pissed but Chad’s face is cherry red as he continues to yell at Perry. 

“I just don’t know what kind of man would do something like this!” he yells, Waverly sits in the distance looking upset. “What, bro, you so scared you’re going home tomorrow that you have to [ _bleep_ ] cheat?”

Perry just smiles smugly at him.

 _And things are getting_ hot in the hot tub.

The camera cuts to a wide shot of Waverly in a hot tub with B-Train. They’re sitting close and B-train looks like he’s been crying.

“I just feel like I can be vulnerable around you, you know?” he says, voice thick. Waverly nods, her own eyes shining. “I don’t have to be B-train all the time. I can just be...Brad.”

They look at each other for a moment before B-train leans down, cups Waverly’s jaw and kisses her. The camera hangs unnecessarily long on them kissing and we fade to black.

_All tonight on The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

The first thing Waverly did when she got back to her room was brush her teeth. Champ must have eaten way too much garlic or something before their one on one date that night and ever since he’d kissed her, Waverly couldn’t wait to get the taste out of her mouth.

There was a knock at her door and she spit her toothpaste out before shouting, “Come in!”

Chrissy poked her head in just as Waverly finished brushing her tongue and rinsing.

“Sooooooo,” Chrissy said, throwing herself on the bed so she bounced a little. “Your date with Champ looked pretty steamy.”

Waverly blushed, remembering how Champ had pressed her against the wall as they came out from their date at the local aquariumn. He palmed her hips and pressed against her as they kissed, his tongue flicking over her lips in a...not entirely pleasant way. Waverly placed her hands on his firm chest and kissed him back, trying to get herself to relax into it. 

She didn’t _hate_ Champ kissing her. It made her stomach tingle a little and he wasn’t terrible at it. But she couldn’t help but feel like something was off. Again, she couldn’t necessarily say it was his fault. Things were bound to feel a little off when there were cameras in your face.

“It was okay,” Waverly said, putting her toothbrush away. She began to brush out her hair, looking in the mirror at Chrissy. “He’s really cute.”

“Hot, you mean,” Chrissy said with a smirk. “He was my personal pick for you.”

Waverly chuckled and began to braid her hair for bed. “Well, thanks. I think.”

Chrissy frowned, watching as Waverly walked to her open suitcase and pulled out her pajamas. A simple t-shirt with sleep shorts.

“Why don’t you seem too thrilled?”

Waverly sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, tying off the end of her braid as she looked at her friend. “I haven’t felt… _sparks_ ,” she said with a blush. It felt childish to admit.

Chrissy shrugged. “I bet you will soon. Your poor little brain is probably just overwhelmed with all the gorgeous man meat running around.”

Waverly smiled and tried to shake off her worries. “You’re right. That’s probably it.”

“By the way, you look killer in your bikini,” Chrissy said pulling out her phone. She scrolled a little then nodded. “Tomorrow you get to make two of them run through the sand with weights on them to get to you.”

“That seems...cruel,” Waverly said, amused.

“It is. It’s also great television,” Chrissy said with a wink. Waverly just laughed and decided to trust her friend. Even as her mind imagined a certain ranch owner in a bikini, running towards her through the sand. Her stomach began to tingle again.

***

Waverly’s fingers tapped a rhythm on her knee as she looked out the window. The drive back to the ranch felt exponentially long and Waverly fiddled with a loose thread in her jeans. Probably because she was bored and without a phone she was just relegated to staring out the window on the drive. Chrissy had gotten back to base camp earlier so Waverly was riding in the car by herself this time. The past few days had been nice. Well, more than nice. Waverly had never been to the ocean before. She’d been as far as a local river with a sandbank, but had never seen anything as breathtaking as the ocean.

Part of her had wished she had someone to share it with other than a bunch of dudes trying too hard to impress her. But she was still taken back by the whole experience. It made her realize that she’d made the right choice in coming on this show. These experiences were worth everything.

They finally made it back to the ranch property and Waverly looked out towards the barn. She wondered what Nicole had been doing this whole time. If she’d been glad that she had a break from all the guys and the camera crews. Somewhere deep in her mind, Waverly wondered if...possibly...maybe...Nicole might have missed her.

Waverly wasn’t going to lie and pretend she hadn’t thought about Nicole during her time away. About how she might look in a bikini...maybe. Waverly’s thoughts were distracted when she saw a truck drive up a path to the side of the property and park near the barn. The door opened and a familiar head of red hair appeared.

Before she could stop herself, Waverly knocked on the privacy screen between herself and the driver before lowering it. 

“I can get out here,” Waverly said, already scooting towards the door.

“Suit yourself,” the driver said as he stopped, “I’ll take your bag to the house.” 

“Thank you!” Waverly said. She hopped out of the car and started across the field towards the barn. She hadn’t really thought it through or she would have had the driver drop her off closer to the barn...but after spending all that time in the car, she didn’t mind stretching her legs a little bit. 

As she got closer to the barn, she wondered how she was going to explain just...showing up at Nicole’s door. She thought of the intricate seashell she had picked up on the beach, smooth and copper in color, that she had brought back for Nicole. Maybe she should have grabbed that from her bag…it would have at least given her a reason to go knocking on her door. It was just a little thing...and Waverly might talk herself out of giving it to her before she did anyways. It felt like a dumb gift but when she’d seen it on the beach, it had reminded her of Nicole so she took it back to her hotel.

When Waverly got to the front of the barn, she wondered how this worked. It was your typical barn door. Giant. And Waverly could hear the horses behind the door. When she had talked with Nicole about where she was living, she said she was in the loft above where the horses were. If Waverly knocked would...Nicole even hear her? 

Waverly took a deep breath and knocked on the door. She felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland, knocking on a door far too big for her. Her fist hovered over the wood, ears straining to hear something other than the typical shuffling of horses behind the door. She thought she heard something like footsteps and suddenly her heart was in her throat. 

What was she going to say to Nicole? That she… _missed_ her? Talk about a way to freak Nicole out immediately. Waverly pushed some loose hair behind her ear and wet her lips nervously when she heard the heavy sound of a lock opening on the other side. She clasped both hands behind her back just as the door opened a little, Nicole’s head popping into view. The smile that tilted at Nicole’s lips made Waverly blush and return it.

“Hey,” Waverly said, rocking forward on the balls of her feet a little.

“Hey,” Nicole said as she opened the door wide enough for her to fit in the opening. She rested her forearm on the side of the barn as she regarded Waverly. She blushed under the redhead’s stare but couldn’t bring herself to look away. Nicole was wearing dress pants and a crisp dress shirt. Very different than her usual cowboy boots, painted-on jeans, tank top and a flannel. “You’re back from your trip.”

Waverly smiled a little too wide, arms swinging at her sides. “I am. All sun kissed and beachy.”

“I can see that,” Nicole said, not hiding the way her eyes flitted over Waverly’s body.

“You’re...dressed up,” Waverly blushed, making a vague gesture to all of Nicole’s body.

Nicole looked down at her attire like she’d forgotten what she was wearing. “Oh yeah, um...court,” she said vaguely, unbuttoning the second button of her shirt and rubbing a spot just under her collarbone. Waverly’s eyes followed the movement for a moment before catching herself and looking back at Nicole’s face, offering her a teasing smile.

“Court?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you arrested, Haught?” Waverly joked.

Nicole rubbed the back of her neck nervously and Waverly suddenly regretted making the joke.

“Nicole, I’m-...I shouldn’t have-”

“No, it’s fine,” Nicole said, reaching out and putting her hand on Waverly’s arm to stop her rambling. Waverly swore that electricity sparked between their skin. Waverly bit her lip to keep the apologetic rambling from escaping her mouth, convinced by the small smile on Nicole’s lips that it really wasn’t necessary.

“I’ll tell you why, just-...” Nicole cleared her throat, “I was actually about to change. Want to come up while I do, then go for a walk?”

Waverly blinked at Nicole for a moment, a little thrown off by the sudden invitation. But she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Plus it was the least she could do after bringing up something potentially painful for Nicole. Waverly mentally kicked herself anyway.

“Sure,” she smiled.

Nicole stepped aside, inviting Waverly in. The warm scent of hay filled Waverly’s lungs as Nicole closed the door behind them. The barn was fairly large, about five horse stalls on each side. For a barn it was fairly modern looking. All slick, bright wood, and-...Waverly could feel the vague hint of air conditioning. Or maybe it was the large oscillating fans above them.

It was definitely a far cry from the barn on the Homestead. The walls had holes in them, beams filled with rot and...Waverly was sure it wasn’t completely safe in there. It hadn’t deterred young Waverly and Wynonna from making it their secret hideout all those years ago though.

“The horses have the nicest digs on the property,” Nicole said as she walked up behind Waverly.

“Clearly,” Waverly said, a breath of awe in her voice.

“You can wait down here with the horses if you want,” Nicole said starting towards a staircase in the corner that Waverly hadn’t noticed before. “Or you can um...come upstairs. I have a couch and...stuff.”

Waverly smiled at the other woman and followed her without offering an answer. Mostly she was afraid that she might seem too eager if she did reply. Because _hell_ yeah she wanted to see where Nicole lived...slept...spent her time. Sure she was essentially living in Nicole’s house, but she also knew the production team came through and completely redid the house when they came in. There were no personal touches, no sense of history. Nicole’s loft may be temporary, but it would definitely offer some clues as to who Nicole was. She had been pretty good about keeping her cards close to her chest.

She followed Nicole up the stairs, _definitely_ not checking out her ass as they went. Well, not on _purpose_. But just the angle of the stairs it was right at eye level and-

“Here we are,” Nicole said with a wave around the large loft. The stairs opened up into a small sitting room area with a couch, a couple of chairs and some bean bags, all facing a television. To the right was a small kitchen, mostly just a sink, stove and a refrigerator. Just beyond the sitting area Waverly saw a door she suspected was the access to the bedroom and bathroom.

“Wow, this is nice,” Waverly said.

Nicole shrugged. “Thanks. Just um...make yourself comfortable, I’ll be right back.”

Waverly sat on the couch as Nicole disappeared into the bedroom. She fell into the cushions a little bit, squeaking in surprise. Adjusting herself, she couldn’t help but lean a little forward into one of the pillows on the couch. The now familiar vanilla smell enveloping her as she sank into it. The pillow was so big it wrapped around her a little bit and Waverly sighed into the soft fabric. She could see herself here, lounging and watching television with her legs draped over Nicole’s lap.

Nicole sneezed from the other room and Waverly sat up stick straight on the couch, eyebrows in her hair line.

“Bless you!” Waverly called.

“Thanks,” Nicole replied, voice muffled.

Waverly let her eyes wander around the sitting room again, trying to take in all the details. On the coffee table in front of the couch was a well worn book laying flat on the surface.

 _In Cold Blood_ by Truman Capote

She reached out and ran her fingers along the word edges of the book. It was soft under her fingers, not the crisp hard line of a newer book.

“I considered being a cop at one point,” Nicole said.

Waverly jumped, hand covering her heart in surprise. She hadn’t heard Nicole walk back out of the room and now she was caught creeping on one of her books.

“You walk so quietly you could probably be a thief too,” Waverly joked. 

Nicole practically smirked. “Probably.” She did a double take to her side and sighed. “Calamity. Stop being weird.” Waverly’s eyes followed Nicole’s and saw a fluffy orange cat sitting behind the television, all twitching tail and staring eyes. 

“Oh,” Waverly startled, blinking at the cat. “I didn’t even see her there.”

“Because she’s being a creep,” Nicole said with an amused shake of her head. The cat meowed and flopped onto her back, Nicole just shook her head and looked back at Waverly. “Walk?”

“Sure,” Waverly said, standing up from the couch. Nicole had looked good in her nicer clothes, but something about her in her usual attire warmed Waverly’s stomach. 

She followed Nicole back down the stairs and out of the barn. They fell into a pace towards some trees several yards away from the barn, walking besides each other in silence for a few moments before Nicole blurted out-

“So I got a divorce today.”

Waverly stopped in her tracks for a moment, mind going a thousand miles a minute. Nicole noticed she’d stopped walking from few paces ahead and stopped, turning to look at Waverly. She had an amused smile on her face that eased Waverly a little bit. She smiled back and caught up with Nicole as they started walking again. 

“Sorry, I um-...wasn’t expecting that,” Waverly admitted. 

Nicole shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans and shrugged. “I know. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Waverly said, resisting the urge to loop her arm through Nicole’s as they walked. She made sure to keep a look out for any more gopher holes to avoid a repeat performance from the week before. “Just took me a bit by surprise. I thought you were gonna say-...actually I’m not sure what I thought you were gonna say. But _I’m_ sorry. About the uh...divorce.”

“It was mostly just signing things. Not a big deal,”Nicole said. “It was a long time coming.”

Waverly fidgeted, wanting to ask all the questions rolling through her brain but not being sure if she _could_. Thankfully, Nicole seemed to sense as much and spoke up again. 

“You’re quite the popular girl, you know,” she started, dimples fully on display. “I saw at least two magazines with your face on ‘em when I was in town.”

Waverly frowned, flushing a little. “Magazines?”

“Yeah! Your face was right on the cover,” Nicole said. 

“Oh god,” Waverly said covering her face with her hands as they walked past the tree line they’d been slowly approaching. “Did I look like an idiot?”

“No, you looked beautiful,” Nicole said easily, the barest hint of a blush on her cheeks. 

Waverly felt her cheeks heat and she dared not look at Nicole for risk she’d only blush more. Because if Nicole was looking at her or smiling or...just existing, Waverly was a goner.

“Thanks,” Waverly murmured shyly.

“Just tellin’ the truth,” Nicole drawled as the sound of moving water got louder. The ground began to slope, the dirt looser and wetter. Waverly slipped a little, her shoe sending loose dirt tripping down the edge of the slope as she went. Nicole’s hand was quickly under her elbow, keeping her upright instead of tumbling down. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good,” Waverly squeaked. She bit back a stupid remark about falling around Nicole all the time and just accepted her help down the hill. She felt an immediate sense of loss when they reached solid ground again and Nicole dropped her hand from her arm. “Thank you. Just a little...are there really _magazines_ with my face on them.”

“My pleasure,” Nicole said. She sat on a fallen log that lay alongside the stream, and Waverly sat next to her. “And yeah. Like I said, at least two.”

Waverly smoothed her hands over her thighs and smiled teasingly at Nicole at her side. “So...did you look at them?”

Nicole chuckled and ran a hand through her hair. “I um...no. Well...I just kinda flipped through it.”

“Did they make me look dumb?” Waverly asked breathlessly. “Oh god, I bet they made me seem dumb, didn’t they?”

“I-...don’t know,” Nicole said, kicking her legs out in front of herself, “I swear I didn’t read it, Waves. Just flipped.”

Waverly narrowed her eyes at Nicole and wondered if she believed her. Nicole just gave her an amused look before Waverly finally looked back towards the stream. She didn’t think that being so disconnected from the world would bother her as much as it did. But now that she knew there were _articles_ out there about her, she couldn’t help but be curious. What could they possibly say about _her_?

Sure she had daydreamed about articles being written about her some day. But she always imagined it would be about her research or possibly when she accidently came across the cure for cancer in her casual chemistry experiments or something. Her hands fidgeted on her lap and Waverly pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Could you um...bring me one?” Waverly asked, eyes big and hopeful.

Nicole laughed and leaned back on her hands. “I’m pretty sure that’s against the rules your bosses have in place to shield you from the outside world.”

“Please, Nicole?” Waverly said leaning a little towards Nicole as she tried to make her eyes as big as possible. A move she had perfected many years ago that worked all the time. Well...twenty-five percent of the time. Mostly on Wynonna who would scoff and throw a pillow at her face. 

“I told you, it’s against the rules,” Nicole said softly.

She leaned a little more forward, so close to Nicole that she caught a hint of her scent and felt dizzy. “Yeah, well, I’ve never necessarily been one to care for rules.”

She watched Nicole’s smile fall a little, mouth going a little slack like she went into some kind of daze. Waverly was about to ask if she was okay when-

“Yes,” Nicole said suddenly. “I mean...sure. Why not. But you can’t tell anyone.”

Waverly practically squealed and clutched Nicole’s arm briefly. “Thank you!”

“But on one condition,” Nicole said, her hand covering Waverly’s hand on her arm. Waverly felt her ears burning, skin tingling.

“What’s that?” Waverly said with a raised eyebrow. It felt like Nicole’s skin was burning through the fabric of her shirt and Waverly couldn’t pull away if she wanted to.

Nicole wrinkled her nose and used her other hand to dig into her pocket. She pulled out a familiar chain with a ring hanging at the end of it. “Don’t say anything about me throwing a wedding ring into the stream?”

Waverly looked at the ring and sat back, her hands falling from Nicole’s arm. “Is that your wedding ring?”

“It _used_ to be my wedding ring,” Nicole said, holding the necklace in her palm and staring at it. “It’s not anymore now. Legally. Technically.”

“Was it bad? Your divorce?” Waverly asked softly. She wondered where her sudden boldness came from. Probably came somewhere after she breathed Nicole in and when Nicole’s hand covered her own. Slightly calloused but still so soft and gentle.

Nicole laughed and looked out at the stream. “Definitely could have been worse.”

She closed her hand into a fist, the chain disappearing from view. 

“Anything can always be worse, that doesn’t mean it was okay,” Waverly said, shrugging one shoulder as her eyes took in Nicole’s face.

Nicole bumped Waverly’s shoulder with her own, smiling wryly. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” Waverly asked, drawing her legs up to her chest, chin resting on her knees.

“Being so cute and smart,” Nicole said before slapping her knees and standing up, not giving Waverly any time to react. Waverly blinked after her as the words sank in, her skin warming and a smile growing on her face. Nicole walked to the edge of the stream, opened her palm to look at the necklace one more time, then turned her hand so that it slipped from her palm and fell into the river. It barely even made a splash as it hit the surface.

Nicole stood a little straighter after the necklace left her hand, looping her thumbs in the belt loops on the front of her pants. She smiled brightly over at Waverly and it felt like electricity hitting her straight in the heart.

***

By the time Waverly wandered back to the house, it felt like she was walking on air. Nicole never failed to make her heart stutter in that way that was becoming all too familiar. She was humming to herself, small smile on her face as she walked into the kitchen with the intention of making herself a quick drink before she wandered back to her room. She stepped into the kitchen and-

“You look happy,” Lucado said as Waverly walked into the kitchen. Waverly hadn’t seen the blonde woman there and jumped what felt like a foot into the air. Lucado hardly came out of the production area where all the trucks were parked a good distance from the house. 

“Oh shit, you scared me,” Waverly said as Lucado looked up from whatever drink she was making at the kitchen island. 

Lucado finally graced Waverly with a glance. “Mm, yes well, the base camp doesn’t have the best selection of alcohol,” she said taking a small sip of what looked like a martini and nodding in approval. She looked back up at Waverly as she picked up her drink to leave. “Just save the happiness for the cameras, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Waverly said, but quickly amended when Lucado gave her a sharp look. “I mean um...Lucado...Miss....”

Lucado just looked at her for a moment and walked out of the kitchen. Waverly let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, only to gasp when Lucado popped her head back into the kitchen.

“And that happiness better not be because of Haught,” Lucado said firmly.

Waverly didn’t even have time to respond before Lucado was gone again.

“Well, shit,” Waverly muttered to herself. She forgot the drink and headed to her room instead.

***

Waverly and Nicole had agreed to meet in the same place next to the stream at lunch the next day, and Nicole would bring her the magazine. Waverly had a day off from filming so thankfully nothing conflicted. Jeremy was gone so she didn’t have a problem at all sneaking back out to see Nicole. She made sure to put on a low cut top and a skirt for no reason other than...who was she kidding. It was because of Nicole. All of these stupid thoughts were because of Nicole. This one was especially because Waverly had noticed Nicole’s eyes lingering on her legs more than once.

The night before, Waverly had been up a little...too long pondering on the situation with Nicole. She could sometimes be a little dense when it came to feelings, especially with other women. It was one of the things that had always drawn Waverly to women more than men. Boys didn’t have any mystery about them, they were easy to read. Women on the other hand…

And Nicole. Especially Nicole. This situation that they had put themselves in was confusing to say the least.

It was no longer a mystery that Nicole was flirting with her. And Waverly flirted right back. Certainly not as well as Nicole but she tried. The problem was that Waverly didn’t know how serious Nicole was about the whole thing. There were so many times Waverly just wanted to pull their faces together and kiss Nicole senseless, but the weight of the show felt heavier in those moments. What made her think Nicole would even want to kiss someone who’d been dating, at one point, twenty-seven guys simultaneously?

But _god_ Waverly wanted to kiss her. She had dreamed about it way too often. A few times she had dreamt about Nicole riding the bull. Except in the dream, Nicole marched right up to her after the ride and kissed her deeply. Another time it was when Waverly fell off the bull and Nicole had leaned over her. Instead this time Nicole straddled her thigh and rode her thigh the same way she had ridden that bull. In another dream, Waverly was riding the bull. She’d look up and look back down and the bull was now Nicole, pale hands squeezing her hips as she looked up at her from the bed. Every time it ended with Waverly waking up and a pounding between her thighs that was torturous.

Waverly cleared her throat, cheeks tinting just thinking about it as she crossed the barrier of trees. She managed to stay upright as she slid herself down the slope, finally seeing Nicole standing on the edge of the stream, back facing her.

She couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face when she saw the redhead standing there, magazine rolled and stuck in her back pocket.

“Hey, cowgirl,” Waverly said as she walked up behind Nicole. The taller woman turned around with a wide smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes like it usually did.

“Isn’t that my line?” Nicole said with a smirk. She pulled the magazine out of her back pocket and held it up in front of Waverly’s face. Her own face stared back at her. She was wearing her silver dress but had on cowboy boots and a hat that she was tipping towards the camera.

Waverly grimaced and took the magazine from her hands. “Oh, god, how embarrassing.”

Her eyes glanced over the rest of the cover, reading the headlines.

_Canada’s New Sweetheart! What secrets is she hiding?_

Waverly felt her blood run cold. She looked back up at Nicole for any hint of what she might see inside. But she was unreadable, chewing her bottom lip between her teeth and staring at the stream.

She flipped quickly through the pages until she found another page with her picture on it. There were a couple of pictures of Purgatory as well as a picture of Ward’s police academy photo in the corner. Waverly already felt her heart in her throat just looking at the picture. Her eyes began to scan the page, picking out keywords as she speed-read the article.

_-tragic past-_

_-disgraced family-_

_-murder suicide-_

_-sister’s previous mental breakdowns-_

Waverly could feel the pressure mounting behind her eyes and suddenly felt fear mixed in with the shame that was settling low in her stomach. Nicole had probably read all of this before she handed it to Waverly. Everything about her past that she never thought would find its way to the surface again. The truth about Wynonna and her past...that’s what killed Waverly the most. Wynonna’s story wasn’t Waverly’s to tell and it certainly wasn’t some stupid journalist’s who had dug into their histories.

“How um...how much did you read?” Waverly managed, holding the magazine against her chest.

Nicole shook her head, looking back at Waverly. “I started to but then...when I saw what the article was about I stopped. I figured if… _if_ you wanted me to know this stuff I’d...rather hear it from you.”

Waverly felt tears threaten to fall from her eyes at the thought. Nicole could have learned every painful secret about Waverly and she passed it off. Waverly didn’t even know if she would have offered someone the same courtesy. She convinced herself that she would. Especially if it was Nicole.

“Thank you,” Waverly said. She sat down on the log, magazine over her knees and head in her hands. “Thank you...I-” Waverly sniffled and shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Nicole said as she sat on the log next to Waverly. She felt Nicole’s hand hover over the small of her back hesitantly before finally resting there. Waverly leaned a little into her touch, her stomach clenching as she pondered all the things that were possibly written in that article. 

“Poor Wynonna,” Waverly muttered, quickly wiping a tear away from her eye. “And I can’t even call her and warn her.”

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked, “I’m sorry. I should have never brought up the magazine.”

“No, I’m glad you did,” Waverly said. “I’m glad I know. I’d rather know.”

Waverly took a deep breath, shutting her eyes and just feeling Nicole’s comforting hand on her back, thumb rubbing small circles over her shirt. She was surprised that Nicole hadn’t run away yet, to be honest. Most people did when they found out she was an Earp with a history of family issues. She licked her lips and looked over at Nicole who was just smiling back at her comfortingly.

“I’m cursed,” Waverly blurted. To Nicole’s credit, she didn’t stop the soothing motions on her back or look surprised at all.

“Cursed?”

“Cursed.”

“Like...literally?” Nicole asked, a slight furrow to her brow.

“No-...well, maybe,” Waverly sighed. “My family’s always been...well, we haven’t had the best luck.”

Even that was putting it lightly, but she figured she was about to tell Nicole everything anyways so there was no point in holding back punches.

“Ever since my great great granddaddy all my relatives have kinda...died young. Them and their spouses. It got to the point that everyone in town gave us a wide berth saying we were cursed. My Daddy he-...well, my Mama left pretty soon after I was born.” Waverly took a deep breath and it was like she could smell her Mama’s perfume again. “My Daddy was always bad. Always a drunk. But it got worse after she left and there were days I slept out in the barn to get away from his fists.”

Waverly sniffled and remembered hiding under her bed...Wynonna covering for her. The pain of hearing Wynonna get hit instead. Even as a kid she wasn’t sure which was worse. Getting hit or hearing her sister get hit because of her.

“And um...one day he was being especially...violent. I guess things at work hadn’t gone the way he wanted. Wynonna took me out to the barn to hide. My older sister stayed in the house because she was never afraid of him. Always sided with him. They both ha-...hated me because they said I looked too much like Mama. They blamed me for her leaving and-”

Waverly shook her head and let out a hoarse chuckle, tears falling silently down her face faster than she could wipe them away. Her hands were shaking in her lap, fingers twitching and picking at the loose thread on the end of her skirt. She stared at them, willing them to stop, but to no avail. Nicole’s hand reached out, covering her own. A warmth settled over her like a blanket, small relieved smile tilting the corners of her mouth. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. She turned her palm upwards so their fingers could lace together, squeezing Nicole’s hand in thanks.

“Anyways...we heard two gunshots and-...Wynonna went to check and they were...both dead. Daddy shot Willa then himself and-” Waverly let out a choked sob she had hoped she could keep down. “Well, Wynonna wasn’t the same after that. She protected me, called the cops, wouldn’t let me inside...but she saw them and-...She had a rough time afterwards. Mentally. But she bounced back and now it’s all back again.”

Nicole stayed silent for a moment, the only sound besides the moving stream being Waverly’s sniffles. Pathetic sniffles. But at least she wasn’t bawling uncontrollably. More than ever, she missed Wynonna and home. Waverly knew how Wynonna would react to all of this. She knew that Wynonna probably just rolled her eyes, scoffed and moved on. But Waverly knew she didn’t like it when people tried to bring it up. Wynonna lived a fairly private life. As private as you could in Purgatory, anyways. What bothered Waverly is that it was her fault that Wynonna’s business was out there. Because of a stupid show.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole whispered. “It feels...like the lamest thing to say. But I don’t know...what else to say.”

Waverly shook her head, thumb stroking the side of Nicole’s hand in her own. “You don’t have to say anything. But ‘sorry’ is...it’s just fine.”

“Still,” Nicole said. “The fact that you and your sister had to go through that.”

Waverly shrugged. “I got through it. And...now I’m here.” She managed a small chuckle, the pressure in her chest subsiding a little bit now that she just got everything out in the open. “I mean, everyone’s got family drama, right?”

A cloud passed over Nicole’s face and she looked down at their joined hands, a smile on her lips that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yeah, everyone does.”

Waverly could see the wheels turning in Nicole’s head, jaw clenching and unclenching like she was fighting to keep words in. Or maybe to let them out. 

“My family’s kinda...shit,” Nicole said, wrinkling her nose with a small chuckle. “They’re definitely not cool with the whole...gay thing. To put it lightly. I haven’t spoken to them in maybe about...eight years. It’s funny, the only reason I have the ranch is because my dad fucked up and borrowed money from my uncle to buy it. He had the rights to the land and his last ‘fuck you’ to my dad was signing the ranch over to me.”

“Wow,” Waverly said, “That’s some ‘fuck you’.”

Nicole nodded and Waverly was treated to the sight of her dimples once again. “It really was. I’m just lucky I was on the other end of it.”

A comfortable silence fell over them, the magazine laying face up in Waverly’s lap as she traced her fingers over the top of Nicole’s hand. They both looked out at the stream and Waverly was thrown by how natural it all felt. Just sitting here with Nicole. Nicole who hadn’t run away at the first hint of her family tragedy. 

Waverly pulled Nicole’s arm across her chest and rested her head on her shoulder. She felt surrounded by Nicole’s scent and it settled warm in her bones. It was the most at home she’d felt since...well...since the last time Waverly could remember.

It was comforting. Sitting there with Nicole, hands clasped together as they just existed in the same space. It was nice and familiar. Probably too familiar, but Waverly wouldn’t worry about that right now. Instead she just enjoyed Nicole’s presence as they watched the stream move. 

***

_Later on the Bachelorette Canada!_

Camera cuts to inside an ice rink. Waverly walks on ice skates with some difficulty, earmuffs over her ears and mittens on her hands. B-train stands next to the ice rink entrance with a big smile.

“Hey!” he says as she hugs him. He pulls back and holds up a worn looking jersey. Waverly looks at it warily before he speaks again. “I brought this for you to wear! It’s my old college jersey.”

“O...kay,” Waverly says, taking the jersey and slipping it over her head. “It’s a little...stinky.”

“You never wash a jersey,” B-train says seriously. “It washes out the luck.”

Waverly forces a small laugh and takes the hand that B-train offers her as they skate onto the rink. Waverly manages to stay upright, despite her wobbly legs. B-train watches her skate onto the ice and lifts his arms in victory.

“Goal!” he yells.

Cut to Waverly’s interview. “He just...kept saying ‘goal’ over and over.”

There’s a quick montage of B-train yelling “goal” at the most seemingly mundane moments. Cut back to Waverly in her interview.

She shrugs, looking amused. “He just really loves hockey?”

Cut to B-train skating backwards, holding Waverly’s hands as she attempts to skate. 

“You’re doing good!” he says. She smiles and gets a little more confident in her movements. The music turns soppy and the camera moves to a close up of B-train. 

“You know,” he says, face sobering, “my dad died when I was a kid and he used to play hockey. It’s why it’s so important to me. And why my number is sixty-nine. It was his number. So when I skate, I skate for him.”

Waverly has tears in her eyes. We cut to her interview where she’s wiping away tears. 

“It was just great to have him open up to me. So I could see he’s not just this jock he presents himself as. He’s more than that.” Waverly nods, a small smile on her face. “We have a lot in common and I could see a future with him.”

_Later on the Bachelorette Canada!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	7. I Really Got a Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Slow dancing and karaoke songs with subtext? If you're into that, here it is!
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

_Is love in the air?_

Waverly and Champ hold hands, walking slowly through a wooded area. At one point, Champ puts his arm around her, and she smiles as she leans into him.

Cut to Champ’s interview. “Just being around Waverly makes me feel like a better man, you know? Like I can do anything.”

Cut back and they’re sitting on a giant tandem swing, swaying back and forth as they talk. Champ holds Waverly’s hand as he gets teary eyed. “I just...feel like you’re something special. And I want to protect you. You know?”

Waverly doesn’t respond, just looks at their joined hands.

We see Waverly’s interview and she has a hand on her chest over her heart. “I just feel things...fluttering around in here.”

Cut back to Waverly and Champ on the swing. Champ leans forward and kisses Waverly. It cuts to a wider shot with the two still kissing.

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

Waverly kicked a pebble down the dirt path, watching it hop and trip until coming to a stop at the edge of the grass lining the path. Her date with Champ had been fun. _Really_ fun. A confusing amount of fun. 

She had to wonder if there was a Stockholm syndrome situation happening. But that wasn’t fair to Champ or any of the other guys. Or...well, maybe Nicole. 

Talk about _confusing_.

She and Nicole had held hands until the sun had started to set, talking about mostly nothing with little interludes of comfortable silence in between. Waverly had held Nicole’s hand for so long that she felt intimately aware of how slender and graceful Nicole’s fingers really were. She shivered when she thought of other ways she could get to know NIcole’s fingers. Then she immediately chastised herself for the thought, cheeks tinting. But she couldn’t help it. Waverly had stroked over every bump of Nicole’s knuckles. She felt the way Nicole’s calloused fingers still felt so gentle. There was something comforting about it.

And yes...maybe Waverly spent the night thinking about what it would feel like to have Nicole’s hands smoothing over her skin.

Waverly cleared her throat and started walking across the field towards the barn without really thinking about it. The heels she was wearing sank into the tall grass, so Waverly took her shoes off and walked barefoot instead. She could hear work being done behind the barn and silently hoped Nicole was wearing a tank top again.

As she got to the barn, she slipped under the fence and rounded the corner. She stopped in her tracks, thankful that she was being blessed once again with the sight of Nicole in a tank top. The white material was starting to become sheer where Nicole’s sweaty skin stuck to it and Waverly let out an unwilling sigh. It must have been louder than she realized because Nicole turned around, a smile lighting up her face when she saw Waverly.

“Hey,” she said pushing her Stetson back a little on her head. She pulled a red handkerchief from her back pocket and wiped the sweat from her face before stuffing it back into her jeans. Waverly blushed at being caught staring and shrugged, walking closer to Nicole and smiling up at her.

“Hey yourself,” she said, wondering what the protocol here was. She wanted to hug Nicole. Especially with her being all...sweaty and glistening. But would that be weird. Even if they had _held hands_. “I see you’re back to chopping.”

Waverly kicked herself for sounding like an idiot.

Nicole pulled the axe up from where it was buried and rested the tool on her shoulder as she smirked at Waverly. “Well, apparently, I have a bunch of people on the property going through it all.”

“Imagine that,” Waverly said, sitting on a nearby log stump. “You should get rid of them.”

“I would,” Nicole said, picking up a log and setting it on the splitting block before looking back at Waverly, “but there’s this one girl I really like talking to.”

Waverly blushed and pushed some hair behind her ear. Nicole really knew how to lay on the charm and if Waverly didn’t get so flustered by it she might hate it.

“Who is this girl? Should I be jealous?” Waverly asked cheekily.

Nicole raised the axe over her head, the muscles in her shoulder blades moving wonderfully under her skin as Waverly followed the lines of her toned arms all the way down to her ass. She swung down with a small grunt that hit Waverly low in her belly, heat curling there. As the log split and fell to the side of the stump, Nicole turned to look at Waverly again.

“Well,” she said as she took off her work gloves and dropped them onto the stump. “She’s probably the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen and has a bunch of guys chasing after her,” Nicole said softly as she walked over to a cooler that was against the barn.

Waverly felt her stomach clench, a smile she couldn’t hold back stretching over her lips. She was smiling so widely that her eyes turned to half moons. Her tongue got thick as she searched for something to say, but luckily Nicole started talking again and the statement went by without comment from Waverly.

“Want a drink?” Nicole asked, holding up a beer.

Waverly pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and raised an eyebrow at Nicole. “Got anything stronger?”

Nicole nodded, looking impressed as she put the drink back in her cooler. “You’re a whiskey drinker if I remember correctly. I have some good stuff upstairs.”

Waverly’s cheeks tinted a little more at the suggestion, raising a playful eyebrow at Nicole. The redhead looked like she caught the possible implication behind her words and blushed, rubbing the back of her neck.

“I mean uh...I could bring it down-”

“I don’t mind going up,” Waverly said standing up from the log with a smile. “Your couch was comfy.”

Nicole laughed and motioned for Waverly to lead the way. They went up to Nicole’s loft and Waverly stood awkwardly in the middle of the sitting area while Nicole went around and picked a couple of things up. Some discarded shirts, a baseball cap, a couple of books. Waverly watched in amusement as she muttered to herself and threw it all in what she assumed was Nicole’s bedroom. Then the redhead walked over to the kitchen area and grabbed two glasses from the cabinet. She carried them in one hand and grabbed the neck of a whiskey bottle with the other. Setting the glasses down in front of Waverly on the coffee table, she poured them two fingers each. 

“Do you mind if I shower really quickly?” Nicole asked, Stetson clutched in her hands. “I’m...pretty gross.”

“Of course!” Waverly said a little too enthusiastically as her mind was bombarded with images of Nicole slipping out of her tank top...standing under a warm stream of water. She cleared her throat and hoped that her cheeks weren’t too red. “I’ll just be here.”

“Okay, thanks,” Nicole said. She turned on the television and handed the remote to Waverly. “If you want. I know you can’t watch television, but games aren’t off limits, right? I’ll just…” She gestured behind her, giving Waverly a smile to match her own.

“Take your time,” Waverly said softly.

Nicole nodded and turned to walk into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Waverly heard the shower turn on and forced every inappropriate thought out of her head. At least for the moment. She took a long sip of the whiskey in front of her to calm her nerves a little. Calamity Jane sat next to the television again, still staring at Waverly suspiciously.

“Come ‘ere,” Waverly said, holding out a hand towards the cat. It looked at her before yawning and jumping gracefully off the tv stand. The orange cat rubbed the side of its face on Waverly’s hand and wrapped around her legs. “Good kitty,” she cooed when the cat quickly lost interest in her again and jumped onto a nearby chair to clean itself.

Waverly picked up a controller from the coffee table and began to scroll through the options before finally landing on a game. By the time Nicole got out of the shower, Waverly was sitting on the floor close to the television, staring intently at the screen while she played, her empty whiskey glass beside her.

“I see you’re into it,” Nicole said as she walked out of the bedroom, drying her hair with a towel. Waverly barely glanced over her shoulder at Nicole before going back to the game she was in the middle of.

“Wy used to make me play these racing games with her all the time,” Waverly said as she banked hard on a turn and pushed herself into first place, “Until I started beating her at them.”

Nicole chuckled and Waverly heard her pour more whiskey into her glass, even if she was too engrossed in the game to look up. She didn’t realize she had been so starved for entertainment. Even reading as slowly as she could, Waverly was already through one of the two books she had been allowed. Her grip on the controller tightened as she got close to the finish line. Her abs were clenched tensely and she slowly leaned closer to the television until-

“Yes!” she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air in celebration as the controller dropped into her lap.

“Here, don’t sit on the floor, sit on this. If you want,” Nicole said, pushing a beanbag her way.

“Wanna play with me?” Waverly asked, eyes sparkling, “I promise I’ll go easy on you.”

Nicole raised an eyebrow at Waverly and brought the whiskey bottle over while dragging another beanbag nearer to Waverly. “We’ll see about that.”

Waverly situated herself in a beanbag and watched Nicole plop down in the one next to her. “You know,” she teased, taking another long sip of the whiskey that was already going to her head. “I haven’t sat in a beanbag since I was a teenager in my boyfriend’s basement.”

Nicole laughed, taking a sip of her own drink. “Hey, I’m just making do while there’s a bunch of strangers living in my house.”

Waverly just hummed as she got comfortable and giggled as she watched Nicole try to get comfortable with her long limbs spilling over the chair. Her damp red hair was sticking up at odd angles and Waverly hated how endearing she found it. Especially coupled with a pair of sleep boxers and tank top. Waverly let her eyes linger on Nicole’s collarbone and neck for a moment before clearing her throat. She turned back towards the television, taking another sip of her drink. 

“Alright, time to kick your ass, Haught.”

Three drinks and four games later and Waverly had hit a losing streak. She certainly was not pleased with the turn of events. Especially not after the big game she had talked to Nicole before they started. Waverly looked over after she lost yet another race and Nicole had a smug grin on her face.

“Oh, hush,” Waverly said, pushing Nicole’s beanbag with her foot a little bit.

Nicole looked at her with that same smirk as she took a sip of her drink. “What?”

“You’re being smug because you won.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yeah, you are,” Waverly teased. The alcohol in her veins was making her bolder and she shook her head. “You have an advantage, your beanbag is more centered than mine.”

Nicole scoffed. “No! They’re even.”

“Are not,” Waverly insisted, leaning over a little closer to Nicole and looking at the television. “Yeah, you’re definitely more centered.”

“Fine, let’s switch,” Nicole said.

“No, because then I’ll have the advantage.”

Nicole chuckled and shook her head, her eyes slightly glazed from the alcohol. “Darlin’, I don’t know what you want me to do, then.”

Waverly blushed at the term of endearment and how it slipped from Nicole’s lips with a slight drawl. It made her sigh. She stood up and pushed her beanbag off to the side, Nicole looking at her in confusion as Waverly pulled Nicole’s beanbag more center to the television, the redhead along with it.

“What the-”

Before Nicole could finish, Waverly plopped herself down on Nicole’s beanbag, settling between her legs. 

_It’s not different than riding a horse together,_ Waverly reasoned with herself. She tried to appear unaffected even if she could feel her entire body burning as she lightly leaned back against Nicole’s chest.

“Um-”

“There, now we’re...equal,” Waverly said softly. She reached down for her glass and took a long sip, draining the rest of her glass. The alcohol certainly didn’t help the way her body felt like it was heating up, but it definitely helped her confidence. 

“How am I supposed to play with you in front of me?” Nicole chuckled, her voice lower than it had been a few moments before. Waverly could feel Nicole’s breath faintly on the back of her neck and suppressed a shiver. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Waverly felt a thrill run up her spine and she bit at her bottom lip to keep from sighing. She was thankful that her back was to Nicole, hiding the extent of the smile on her face. Again, she just hummed and reached behind her for Nicole’s hands. She brought Nicole’s hands around her middle, her one hand still clutching the controller until Waverly put Nicole’s other hand on the controller too.

“There,” Waverly said as she picked up her own controller and leaned back more comfortably into Nicole, her back settling against her chest. Waverly really _really_ wanted to ignore how Nicole’s breasts were pressed to her back. Or else there was no way she was ever going to get out of this situation alive. But the heat in her stomach settled low and she knew it wasn’t going anywhere. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Nicole said as she adjusted herself on the beanbag. Her legs were bent at the knee and framed Waverly’s hips perfectly. Waverly felt all wrapped up in Nicole, the strong smell of vanilla dipped donuts invading her lungs. She got comfortable against Nicole and they arranged their arms a little drunkenly, elbows bumping and giggles escaping their lips until Nicole finally started a new game. 

“What do I get when I win?” Nicole asked softly. “You still owe me a prize, remember.”

Waverly’s mind went back to Nicole riding that bull and suddenly hated Nicole for bringing it up. It only made her warmer.

“I think you mean to ask what I want when I win,” Waverly teased back.

“We’ll see about that,” Nicole said.

As they got more into the game, they got more relaxed, their bodies sinking into the chair further and further. But no matter how into it she got, Waverly was still keenly aware of how Nicole’s breath played over the shell of her ear. Goosebumps spread from her neck all the way down her arms, hairs standing on end. She was so close to Nicole. So so close. But she needed to be closer. Waverly uncrossed her ankles and her legs brushed against Nicole’s.

Waverly might have been embarrassed by how distracted she was but she knew Nicole was even more distracted. She was doing far worse at the game than she had been just a few minutes before. Waverly even did an experiment where she would lean further back into Nicole or lean her head a little closer to her jaw to see what would happen. Usually Nicole would run into a wall or accidently hit another car.

“You okay back there, Haught?” Waverly asked with a playful tone. “You’re not doing too well this time around.”

“I’m just waiting to make my move,” Nicole said. 

Waverly could feel the heat radiating off of Nicole.

“From fifth place?” Waverly teased.

“Yes,” Nicole insisted softly just as her character slipped into sixth place. “ _Fuck_ ,” she breathed, her breath moving down the side of Waverly’s neck.

Waverly instantly felt the small flame roar into a fire, skin overheating and breath catching in her throat. All just from a single, breathy word from Nicole curling against her ear. Waverly wanted to throw her controller across the room, turn around in this stupid beanbag chair and kiss Nicole. Hard.

Instead she tried to focus on the game in front of her, even if it was the last thing she was worried about right now. Thankfully it was only a few more moments before Waverly crossed the finish line in first place, Nicole behind in third. Waverly squealed in excitement and did a small fist pump in victory. She set the controller aside and turned so that her legs were hanging over one of Nicole’s and off the side of the chair. One hand clung to Nicole’s shirt while the other rested on her knee as she smiled.

“I won,” Waverly said, their drunken bodies swaying closer.

Nicole’s hands were still on the controller, her arms on either side of Waverly’s hips. Waverly swore she could feel Nicole’s breath on her lips, that’s how close their faces were.

“I let you win,” Nicole said, tongue darting out to wet her lips. Waverly’s eyes followed the movement, her own mouth feeling dry all of a sudden. The hand on Nicole’s knee began to draw idle patterns over the skin there and she wondered if all of Nicole’s skin was just as soft as her knee.

“Did not. I won on skill alone,” Waverly whispered. She watched Nicole’s eyes flicker down to her lips and _fuck_ their faces were so damn close. All the dreams and fantasies that Waverly had had about kissing Nicole could come true in this moment. All it needed was a few...more...inches-

“Waves,” Nicole said. Waverly heard her controller fall to the floor and one of Nicole’s hands settled on her hip, while the other covered Waverly’s on her knee.

“Yes?” Waverly said, barely above whisper.

“I think I know what I want for my prize,” Nicole said lowly.

“What’s that?” Waverly asked, heart pounding in her ears.

Their faces drifted even closer, their lips slightly parted and breath mingling. 

_This is it,_ Waverly thought. Just as she felt their noses barely brush, something vibrated under her and Waverly jumped what felt like ten feet in the air.

_”Shit!”_ Nicole hissed, fingers fumbling and reaching for the offending device.

Waverly couldn’t help the chuckle that left her lips as she watched Nicole scrabble around. She was hovering over Nicole’s lap as best she could. “Is that your phone or are you just happy to see me?” Waverly teased, her own cheeks still flushed from the almost kiss, and in amusement.

“Very funny,” Nicole said flatly, eyes shining. She finally got her phone from her pocket and Waverly settled back into her lap, albeit a little awkwardly. Nicole answered her phone, voice strained. “Hello?”

The little bubble they’d been in had popped, the air cooling around them, but Waverly still couldn’t help staring at her lips as she talked. Her fingers found the ends of Nicole’s still damp hair. She curled a piece around her fingers and let it bounce back.

“Oh, uh, hey Jeremy,” Nicole said with a frown. “How’d you get my num-...okay...okay...yeah, she’s-...okay.”

Waverly wondered if Nicole’s hair always felt so soft. What kind of shampoo did she use?

“Jeremy, I’ll tell her. You-...what? You’re where?” Nicole said, her voice getting a little higher. There was a frantic knock on the barn door just as Nicole hung up on Jeremy. Nicole gave Waverly a strained smile as she set her phone besides them on the ground. Waverly gave her a questioning look and Nicole sighed.

“So, guess who’s here,” Nicole muttered, her eyes darting back down to Waverly’s lips. Waverly felt the fire start anew and her fingers crept to the back of Nicole’s neck, dull fingernails scratching along the sensitive skin. She felt Nicole shiver and felt their faces drawing closer together when there was another knock on the door.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Waverly said under her breath as Nicole pulled back and ran a hand through her hair. Waverly got off of Nicole’s lap begrudgingly and the other woman stood up after her. They just looked at each other for a moment, eyes not leaving the other as they drifted closer together again. Nicole’s fingers played along Waverly’s palms, drawing her closer. Waverly’s senses were all wrapped up in Nicole. She could hear her breathing, slightly more labored, and feel the heat radiating from her skin as they got even closer.

There was another frantic knock at the door and Waverly growled in frustration. 

“Coming!” 

Nicole sighed and linked her fingers with Waverly’s, leading her down the stairs and to the barn door. When they got closer, Waverly could almost feel Jeremy’s nerves on the other side of the door. She felt Nicole’s grip loosening on her hand as she reached for the latch of the barn door so Waverly squeezed her hand tight and tugged on it to get her attention. Nicole turned to look at her, small smile on her face. Waverly took Nicole’s other hand in her own and stepped closer to her.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Waverly started softly, “but we would have kissed up there if Jeremy hadn’t called.”

“I...think so. I was hoping so,” Nicole replied, her smile widening to show her dimples.

“I want to kiss you,” Waverly said, her stomach flipping nervously. Especially when she saw Nicole’s eyes darken. She reached up and pushed some of Waverly’s hair behind her ear and she shivered at the touch.

“I really _really_ want to kiss you.”

Waverly stepped so close that her toes bumped with Nicole’s. The redhead bent down a little and-

“Waverly! Nicole!” Jeremy said as he knocked. “I’m kinda freaking out here.”

Waverly sighed and let her head fall forward to rest on Nicole’s chest. “Fucking Jeremy.”

“It’s...probably for the best,” Nicole replied. Waverly’s head jerked back, stomach twisting uncomfortably as she looked up at Nicole. She wondered if maybe she had misheard her or maybe…

“For the...best?” Waverly asked, unable to mask the hurt in her voice.

Nicole ran her free hand through her hair. “No, I mean-...I just-”

“I can hear you talking back there!” Jeremy yelled through the wood of the door.

Nicole rolled her eyes, dropped Waverly’s hand and pulled open the barn door a little more firmly than necessary.

“Jeremy,” Nicole said with a stiff smile. Jeremy’s eyes immediately landed on Waverly and he visibly sighed in relief.

“Phew,” he said with an awkward smile, “I thought maybe you’d been kidnapped. Ready to go back?”

Waverly was torn. She wanted to pull Nicole aside and have her explain why this was for _the best_ like she had said. But she also wanted to get away from her and the potential embarrassment of kissing someone that...was starting to sound like they didn’t want to be kissed.

“Um, sure,” Waverly said, nervously pushing some hair behind her ear and taking a step closer to Jeremy. Nicole turned a little, her back to Jeremy and brown eyes big as she looked down at Waverly.

“Waves,” she whispered, “I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine,” Waverly said, smile stiff. “I know, I just-...I’ll talk to you later. Okay?”

Nicole looked at Waverly for a moment and finally nodded. She stepped aside and Waverly walked past her and outside. She got in the golf cart Jeremy had ridden out to the barn and looked back at the doorway. Nicole was standing there in her sleep shorts, damp hair mussed from Waverly’s fingers. Waverly smiled and waved weakly at her. Nicole waved back, lopsided smile on her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes. But Waverly didn’t think about it as Jeremy drove her back to the house. Instead she just thought about being close to Nicole and how pretty her lips looked in the light of the barn.

***

_Next time on The Bachelorette Canada!_

Waverly is standing on the side of the pool in her bikini, arms crossed and obvious discomfort on her face. Champ and Chad are standing on the other side of the pool. Chad has a drink in his hand, clearly a little more than just tipsy as the two stand close, both of them in bathing suits.

“Just admit it, Champ, you’re not here for the right reasons!” Chad yells, gesturing wildly. 

_When a double date, takes a bad turn-_

Champ scoffs and shakes his head. “Lay off, _Chad_. Want to talk about all your Tinder matches that you brag about all the time?”

“What the [beep] are you talking about?” Chad says, pushing Champ a little. Champ pushes him back and Waverly yells from the other side.

“Can you two stop? Please?” she says, throwing her hands up in frustration.

“Tell him to stop!” Champ says, not taking his eyes off of Chad.

Chad takes a swing at Champ and cracks him in the jaw. Waverly rushes over and tries to stand between them but they keep going at each other. Waverly jumps back when Champ tackles Chad to the ground.

_-what will Waverly do?_

The camera cuts to a shaky, far away shot of Waverly walking away. She has her fists at her sides and is trying to hold back tears as she starts to fumble with her microphone in an attempt to take it off.

“I’m done,” she says, voice thick, “I just can’t anymore.”

The camera zooms in dramatically, trying to catch her as she walks away. Another camera cuts to a close up of the two guys sitting by the pool, each looking a little worse for the wear and vaguely ashamed.

We cut back to Waverly, Chrissy standing in front of her with her hands on her shoulder. Without her mic and with her tears, we can barely hear what she’s saying. But her shoulders are hunched and she shakes her head, hands over her face. 

“I just...can’t do this anymore.”

Cut to an interview with Champ who has a split lip. “I just can’t stand for people being dishonest and Chad’s being dishonest to Waverly. I’m just trying to let Waverly know who the bad guy here is and I think that’s what’s going to make her know I’m the one.”

_Next time on The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

Waverly pulled her cover-up around herself tightly, still a little chilly and damp from the pool so that the silk stuck to her skin. The sound of Champ and Chad yelling still echoed in her mind as her feet automatically took her towards the barn. The yelling was too reminiscent of when she was growing up. Some of her earliest memories were her Daddy yelling at her Mamma. Or of when her Daddy would yell at her and Wynonna. Once in a while Willa, but usually she got away unscathed.

She didn’t know what it was about the situation that brought back those memories. It wasn’t like fights weren’t a normal thing working in Shorty’s, after all. But this just felt different. More personal. Maybe because she could usually break up the fights at Shorty’s but this time, neither of the guys would listen to her.

Her chest was still hiccuping from tears that wouldn’t stop streaming down her cheeks and she cursed herself. She just...didn’t want to fucking cry anymore. And she knew people were going to be looking for her. Especially after she dramatically ripped her mic off and stormed away. And she needed to go somewhere no one would find her. Or at least take longer to find her.

She knocked on the barn door and tried to wipe the tears from her eyes with the palm of her hands. After a few moments, the door opened and Nicole stood there with a smile on her face. But as soon as she noticed the tears on Waverly’s cheeks her face fell.

“Waves-”

Waverly practically fell forward into Nicole’s chest, face pressed against her and fists balled into her shirt. Nicole’s strong arms automatically circled Waverly and pulled her close. The tightness in her chest started to loosen just from breathing in the familiar scent of vanilla and hay.

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked softly.

“C-can you just-” Waverly sniffled. “I need to go somewhere. Somewhere no one can find me.”

“Okay,” Nicole said as she pressed her cheek to the top of Waverly’s head. “Just let me-”

She squeezed Waverly one last time and pulled away just to put on her boots and hat. Waverly shivered from the cold as soon as Nicole was gone and the redhead put a hand on her arm. 

“Clothes. I have-...Do you want to get out of your bathing suit?” Nicole asked, blushing as she took in Waverly’s dress.

“Oh, um...maybe,” Waverly said with a shrug. Nicole gestured for Waverly to get inside and she followed her up the stairs. Nicole led Waverly to her bedroom and quickly opened a couple of drawers, pulling some clothes out before handing them to Waverly. She took them and smiled up at Nicole. “Thanks.”

“Bathroom’s right there,” Nicole said pointing her towards another door. “I’ll just be in the living room.”

Nicole slipped out of the room so quickly that Waverly was sure she might have missed it if she blinked. Waverly went into the bathroom and slipped the clothes on over her barely wet swimsuit. Nicole’s jeans were a little long so she rolled them up at the cuff. They were a little bit baggy but it would definitely do. She ran her fingers over the soft fabric of the flannel Nicole had given her before slipping it on. As she rolled up the sleeves, she walked back out to the sitting room where Nicole was.

“What do you think?” Waverly asked, voice still thick from tears as she tied the flannel up to settle just above the pants.

“I-...yeah,” Nicole said a little dumbly. “I mean uh...good. You look good.”

Nicole cleared her throat and took Waverly’s hand again. “I have somewhere I want to show you but...are you okay getting on a horse?”

“Yeah, if you’re on it with me,” Waverly said with a blush.

“I wouldn’t dream of it any other way, darlin’,” Nicole said, offering her arm to Waverly. She took it without hesitation and followed Nicole down to the main part of the barn. Nicole took Whiskey from her stall and over to some steps to make it easier for Waverly to get on. Once they were both situated on the horse, Waverly behind Nicole, they rode off towards the woods. 

Waverly soaked in the feeling of being pressed up against Nicole’s back, arms locked around Nicole’s middle. Her hands splayed over Nicole’s stomach, trying not to be too obvious that she was feeling the muscles moving under Nicole’s skin as they rode. Nicole took them back to the stream and crossed it. They followed the stream up a ways until the ground rose into a fairly steep cliff. There was a large tree at the top of the cliff, branches reaching and hanging over the water. 

Nicole hopped of the horse first and helped Waverly down, hands around her waist. As Nicole lowered her down to the ground, Waverly couldn’t help but wrap her arms around Nicole’s waist and hug her again. Nicole just chuckled and rested her chin on the top of Waverly’s head as they stood there in silence. Waverly had even shocked herself by how willingly she was finding comfort in Nicole’s arms. A woman she hadn’t known for that long, truly. 

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked, interrupting the silence. 

“Yeah,” Waverly said with another sniffle. “I just needed to get away from those idiots for a little bit.” Whiskey snorted and Waverly jumped away from Nicole in surprise. The redhead bit her lip, clearly holding back a chuckle.

“Sorry, are-...let’s go over here,” Nicole said putting her hand on Waverly’s lower back and leading her away from the horse towards the tree.

“Where are we?” Waverly asked as they got closer to the edge of the cliff.

“My favorite place on the ranch,” Nicole said with a small smile. “Me and my dad used to ride up here all the time when I was little.”

Waverly walked closer to the tree, hand brushing along the bark as she noticed initials carved all into the bark. Some clearly older, some larger than others. But all in all there were about ten pairs of initials all in the tree.

“What’s this?” Waverly asked.

Nicole walked up besides her and pointed to the initials ‘N + A’ carved into the bark. “These are my parents’,” she said before pointing to another pair right above those. “And these are my grandparents’.” She pointed to another. “And my great grandparents...you get the idea.”

“Wow,” Waverly said under her breath. Nicole shrugged, thumb hooked in her belt loop.

“Basically, if your initials make it onto this tree you’re practically engaged,” Nicole said kicking an exposed root lightly.

Waverly smiled up at Nicole. “That’s sweet.”

“Yeah,” Nicole mumbled.

Waverly pushed a falling sleeve up to her elbow again as she asked. “So um...where are you and um...your ex-wife?”

Nicole shook her head. “Not on here,” she grimaced as she spoke, “I guess that should have tipped me off that things weren’t going to work out with me and Shae.”

Not knowing what else to say, Waverly just hummed and looked back at the tree. She had already said she was sorry and Nicole basically told her not to be sorry. Still her curiosity always got the better of her.

“Why didn’t you bring her up here? If you don’t mind me asking,” Waverly asked.

“I just never really got around to it before it all fell apart,” Nicole said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Shae and I got married pretty quickly...we met rock climbing and were married about forty-eight hours later.” She frowned, her nose scrunching up as she continued. “It was pretty easy to see why it didn’t work. It was all amicable though.”

“That’s good at least,” Waverly said lamely.

“Definitely could have been worse after making a drunk and lonely decision.”

“I’m sure my sister’s made much worse,” Waverly said with a chuckle. 

Nicole looked down at her hands for a moment before rubbing the back of her neck. “Waves,” Nicole said, “About...the other day. When I said it was-...when Jeremy interrupted-”

“It’s fine,” Waverly said quickly, not really wanting to relive that particular moment. Everything leading up to that moment she had relived several...several times. All ending in a variety of ways that she dared not think about right now for fear of blushing.

“No, it’s not,” Nicole said, taking Waverly’s hand between two of her own. “I just-...I _wanted_ to kiss you. Still do. I just didn’t...want to confuse you or make things harder.”

Waverly felt excitement travel up her spine at Nicole’s confession. Nicole _wanted_ to kiss her. And god, did Waverly want to kiss her. But she also knew that wasn’t the point of this conversation right now. 

“I still want to kiss you too,” Waverly said softly, taking a step closer to Nicole until their fronts were barely touching. “So what-...what’s the problem?”

Waverly looked up at Nicole through her lashes, lip trapped between her teeth. Nicole looked at her, smile blooming on her face as she chuckled and shook her head.

“Waves,” she breathed, “you’re gonna be the death of me.”

Waverly chuckled and looked down at her feet before looking back up at the taller woman. “Is that a bad thing?”

“While I’m trying to make a point, yes,” Nicole said, even if her smile never faded.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I-,” Nicole sighed. “You’re on a _dating_ show Waverly. To marry a guy at the end.”

Waverly blushed. “We don’t actually-...I mean if I pick a guy and don’t like him we can...break up.”

“See, that’s the thing,” Nicole said. “I really like you, Waverly. Really...really like you-”

“I really like you too.”

Nicole smiled so brightly Waverly thought she might go blind. She licked her lips and continued. “I just...don’t want to make your life harder. By adding me into this mix of people trying to win your heart.”

Waverly thought about all the guys she had gone on dates with. All the ones she kissed in the past few weeks. It was nice. Fun even. But none of them had made her feel even a quarter of what just being around Nicole did. “I...you don’t compare to any of those guys,” Waverly saw Nicole’s confused look and shook her head to correct herself. “That’s not what I meant. I meant… _they_ don’t compare to _you_. And what you make me feel.”

Nicole looked at Waverly for another moment before she looked at their clasped hands between them. “I...then why are you on the show?” she asked softly.

The question took Waverly a little off guard and she cocked her head to the side. “I...wasn’t expecting you.”

Nicole nodded, smirk on her face. “I wasn’t expecting you either.”

Waverly laughed and squeezed Nicole’s hand. She looked out towards the horizon to see the sun starting to set. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist. 

“Do you mind if we just...stand here for a moment?” Waverly whispered. “I just want to watch the sun set. With you.”

“Whatever you want,” Nicole whispered, wrapping her arms around Waverly’s shoulders and resting her chin back on her head. Waverly shut her eyes and just felt the comfort of Nicole holding her.

***

That night, Waverly fell asleep wrapped up in Nicole’s flannel as she pretended it was Nicole holding her.

***

“Waverly, are you ready?” Jeremy asked as he knocked from the other side of her bedroom door. Waverly took one last look at herself in the mirror, simple jeans and...so what if she took the plaid shirt that she’d borrowed from Nicole and tied it up like a crop top? It was very “Western” which is what Lucado and Chrissy wanted. Exactly what Chrissy had told her to wear. And yeah, maybe it was an extra bonus that it smelled like Nicole. She had straightened her hair, and she pushed it back from her face as she walked to the door.

“Ready,” she said with a small smile. “Do you know what we’re going to be doing today?”

Jeremy smiled brightly, a pleased grin on his face. He opened up the transpo van’s door for her, getting in after her. “Yes, actually. It’s karaoke.”

“Karaoke?”

“Yeah! They set it up earlier. All the crew was singing-”

Jeremy froze, listening intently to...something. Waverly frowned and watched as Jeremy’s face paled.

“Oh no,” he said. “Crap crap crap _crap_.”

“What is it?” Waverly asked.

“I guess something happened to the generators,” Jeremy said, frantically scrolling through his phone. “Oh god, Lucado’s going to be so mad.”

“Isn’t that someone else’s job to handle?” Waverly asked with a cock of her head. “Like the electric guys’ jobs?”

“Well. Yes, technically,” Jeremy said seriously. “But as the head PA, technically I help every department.”

“Ah,” Waverly said just as the van pulled up to where they were shooting. It was another older looking barn, far out on the property. There were production vans and crew members running around frantically, like chickens with their heads cut off. As they stopped, Jeremy jumped out of the car and Waverly followed. 

“I just don’t know how we’re going to get another generator up here-”

“What about Nicole?” Waverly asked with a shrug. “I mean, she won’t have your big fancy production generator but...she might have something.”

Jeremy jumped and began to go through his phone again. “You are a genius,” he muttered as he put his phone to his ear. “Hello? Nicole?”

Waverly smiled to herself and began to walk towards the barn. No one seemed to mind her as they tried to figure out the generator situation. Her stomach warmed excitedly at the thought of seeing Nicole again, the way it always did. Even if she had just seen her the night before. Waverly would spend all her time with Nicole if she could. She went into the barn, barely lit just from a few lights here and there that they’d managed to find a working outlet for. But even in the low light, Waverly saw a small makeshift stage with big speakers set up and round tables around to make it look like a bar.

She pulled a chair over to a window and sat, watching the crew as they worked.

Sure enough, it wasn’t more than a half hour later that Nicole was pulling up to the old barn in a truck with a large generator on a trailer hitched to the back. Definitely not as big as the ones the production crew had, but definitely nothing to bat an eye at. Several crew members ran up to the truck as she stopped it, already hooking up the necessary cords.

Nicole got out of the truck, her eyes automatically finding Waverly’s from the window. They smiled at each other and Waverly watched as Nicole practically swaggered into the barn, adjusting the cowboy hat on her head.

“Howdy,” Nicole said with a wink as she walked into the makeshift karaoke bar. Suddenly the lights came on again and there was a smattering of applause as people went to work.

“Howdy,” Waverly said with a playful eye roll. “Are you going full country on me today?”

Nicole sat backwards on a nearby chair, charming smile on her face as she amped up her accent. “Well, now, little lady, if you like my drawl I have no problem playin’ it up for you.” Her eyes darted down to Waverly’s wardrobe and her smirk got wider. “Looks like you’re the one going full country anyways. Nice shirt.”

Waverly giggled, a blush lighting up her cheeks. “I do kinda like it,” Waverly admitted. “Even if it’s a little cheesy. And thank you, I’ve grown attached to this shirt.”

Nicole looked at the set up and tilted her chin towards the stage. “Rumor around here has it that you’re going to be singing tonight.”

“You’re correct,” Waverly sighed. “Are you going to stick around and watch me humiliate myself?”

“You think they’ll let me?” Nicole asked.

Waverly shrugged. “They’re carting in a bunch of extras. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you hung out in the back where the cameras won’t catch you.”

Nicole pushed her cowboy hat back on her head. “What? You don’t think I’m camera ready?”

“I think you’re always camera ready,” Waverly said with a wink. She was rewarded with a small blush on Nicole’s neck. “And I think...you should stay.”

They stared at each other for a moment, something passing between them before Nicole nodded. “Then I’ll stay.”

Waverly smiled widely as Jeremy came back into the barn with Chrissy. They walked up to Waverly, Chrissy eyeing Nicole briefly before turning back to her friend. 

“Are you ready? The guys will be here any minute,” Chrissy said.

Her stomach dropped a little at the mention of the guys. The ones she was expected to flirt with tonight. Here. Now in front of Nicole. _Great_.

“Sure,” Waverly said as she stood up. The extras were filing in and Waverly made her way to a seat in front of the stage, Chrissy by her side.

“So,” Chrissy whispered, “why’s Haught here?”

Waverly shrugged and hoped her blush wasn’t obvious. “She brought the generator. She wants to see a bunch of guys make fools of themselves.

“Mhm,” Chrissy said. “Nothing to do with you?”

“Nope,” Waverly said with a shake of her head and halfway convincing snort of disbelief.

Waverly sat down in the seat, Mark taking a seat next to her as Chrissy shot her a look and walked away. They said their usual pleasantries before the camera’s started rolling. Waverly picked at some skin at the corner of her thumb as she watched the guys being brought in to sit at the tables around her. She waved at them as they came in, bright smile on her face to match theirs. Champ still had a split lip and Waverly looked away from him quickly.

She squirmed uneasily, thinking about how Nicole was watching her flirt with all these guys. It made her feel more self conscious than she usually did with the cameras on her. 

“Waverly, you look stiff,” Chrissy said into her headset. Waverly cleared her throat and tried to make an effort to relax. Thankfully some alcohol was put in front of her a moment later and she quickly drained it to calm her nerves.

***

_Later tonight on The Bachelorette Canada!_

_The guys sing some notes, hoping to make it into Waverly’s heart._

We run through a quick montage of the guys singing different terrible songs. Perry sings “Uptown Girl”, trying to move his hips to the beat. Chad gets up and sings “Baby Got Back”, complete with horrible and slightly explicit hand gestures. Champ sings “We Are the Champions”, voice cracking hideously as he tries to sing some high notes. 

We cut to a close up of Mark and Waverly looking amused but also slightly horrified by what’s happening in front of them.

“Well, none of them said they were professional singers,” Waverly says in her interview, nose wrinkled and small smile on her face.

_But will someone’s actions cause a rift in the house?_

B-train gets up and sings “Don’t Stop Believing”. Waverly laughs, head tipped back as B-train gets off the stage and pulls Waverly up there with him. She laughs even harder and as his song ends, he dips her and kisses her hard in front of the crowd.

Camera cuts to Champ’s interview, he looks mad. “He wasn’t supposed to pull her up there! That’s cheating.”

_Later tonight on The Bachelorette Canada._

***

The moment that B-train dipped her and kissed her, Waverly felt her gut twist. All she could think about was Nicole sitting in the corner watching. Nicole and the talk they’d just had about how they wanted each other. Really wanted each other. But Waverly was on this _stupid_ show because she wanted the adventure, the money.

Still she couldn’t deny the fact that she liked some of the guys. As she had told herself a million times before, they were sweet. Sweet and nice and obviously very attractive. But...Nicole was all that and so much more. 

There was just so much to consider. For one thing, this was Chrissy’s job. Chrissy had staked a lot on her and she couldn’t just bail on her. She had to hold up her end of the deal that she made with Chrissy, who had only been trying to do her a favor. Plus it wasn’t just Chrissy’s reputation, it was hers too. One that she had spent years trying to build to get out of her family’s shadow. It was such a delicate thing that could be ruined so quickly.

But she would let it all go to hell for one chance with Nicole.

The can of worms that would be opened if Waverly bowed out of the show now...financial and contractual obligations aside, the press wouldn’t leave Waverly alone. And if they wouldn’t leave Waverly alone, they wouldn’t leave Nicole alone. Waverly knew she couldn’t do that to her.

Then there was that little doubt in the back of her mind. The little voice that told her that maybe...maybe she wasn’t as into Nicole as she thought. Maybe just comparing Nicole to the rest of the guys made her seem that much better by comparison.

Waverly sighed as the director called cut, signalling an end to the filming. She looked over her shoulder at Nicole who was smiling easily at her. As soon as her dimples popped, Waverly felt all the doubts about her feelings melt away. 

Chrissy got up on the stage and spoke into the microphone. “Alright everyone. We wrapped early so...karaoke party?”

The crew hollered in excitement and Chrissy took the microphone from the stand. “I was hoping everyone would be into this!” The music started and she began to sing. Waverly said a quick goodbye to Mark and wandered into the back of the room. She grabbed two beers from a nearby cooler, popped the tops off and walked over to Nicole.

Nicole took her beer with a grateful smile. “I thought you were supposed to sing tonight,” Nicole said with a raised eyebrow.

Waverly shook her head and took a long sip of her beer. “I dodged that bullet.”

“Oh come on,” Nicole said with that easy smile that might make Waverly do just about anything that Nicole asked. “Just one song?”

Waverly shook her head. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll sing a song if you do.”

“If I do?” 

“Yeah.”

“Oh, no one wants that.”

“I do,” Waverly said, making her eyes wide. Nicole scoffed and looked down at her beer bottle where she was peeling at the label. Waverly had her in the palm of her hand. She knew it.

“I’m gonna need at least two more of these before that,” Nicole said. Waverly squealed in excitement and went back to the cooler, getting a few more beers for them with a challenging raise of her brow.

“Deal,” she said taking a long sip and draining half of her own bottle.

Nicole smiled at her and did the same just as Chrissy finished up her song. The more people that got up to sing, the easier it got to drink. Soon Waverly and Nicole were on their third beers and Chrissy was bouncing up to them.

“Come on, Waves, your turn,” she said taking her hand.

“Chrissy,” Waverly whined, “I don’t even know what to sing!”

Chrissy acted offended, “Waves! You act like we haven’t done karaoke several times and I don’t know your go-to song.”

Waverly blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Really? You’re gonna make me sing-”

“Yes,” Chrissy said, eyes sparkling. “Come on.”

Waverly let Chrissy pull her from her seat with one last look at Nicole, who looked way too pleased with herself. As Chrissy walked arm and arm with Waverly to the stage, she leaned in and whispered.

“You better be careful, hanging out with Nicole like that,” Chrissy said. “People are starting to talk.”

Waverly paled and shook her head. “It’s nothing, Chrissy. She’s a friend.”

“Doesn’t mean people won’t talk,” Chrissy singsonged before leaving Waverly at the bottom of the stage steps. Waverly huffed and began slowly up the stairs. Everyone burst into applause at the sight of her walking on stage and she blushed, smiling over at the hollering boys. She vaguely registered Lucado yelling at a camera guy to roll but her embarrassment and slightly tipsy mind chose to ignore it.

The music started and Waverly started to sing, _“You keep saying you got something for me. Something you call love but confess.”_

Her eyes found Nicole in the back of the room who was practically beaming at her. That and the crowd helped feed into her energy, growing more confident the longer she sang. The song was coming to a close and she put the mic back in the holder, both of her hands holding it as she did her best attempt at singing provocatively, eyes on Nicole the whole time as she crooned.

_“These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.”_

Waverly smiled at Nicole whose mouth was hanging open slightly as Waverly stepped off of the stage. The guys hollered like she had just done a strip tease or something as Waverly sat back down across from Nicole. She had a beer hanging limply from her hand so Waverly made a show of taking it and draining its contents, eyes on Nicole the whole time. 

She finished the beer and put the empty back in Nicole’s hand with a wink. “Your turn.”

Nicole blinked and shook her head. “You expect me to follow that?”

“We had a deal,” Waverly said with a small pout.

“Fine,” Nicole sighed, adjusting the hat on her head. “But you’re gonna regret it.”

“I doubt that,” Waverly said as Nicole stood up and walked towards the stage. Nicole looked back once and Waverly gave her an encouraging smile before she stepped onto the stage.

Nicole’s thumbs were hooked into her belt loop and she cleared her throat. She leaned forward a little awkwardly into the mic and spoke. “Hi, I’m um...my name is Nicole.”

“We know who you are!” someone shouted and Nicole blushed just as the music started. She shifted awkwardly on her feet as she began to sing.

_”Searching, I've spent a lifetime, darling. Searching, looking for someone like you,”_ Nicole sang, her voice cracking and still with the vague drawl that Waverly found irresistible. Her voice wasn’t perfect, obviously, but to Waverly it was the most charming thing she had ever witnessed.

When brown eyes met hazel, Waverly felt the breath leave her lungs and she couldn’t look away. Nicole smiled a little, voice getting a little more confident as she sang.

_”Other loves have come my way, but they were not for me. Tell me that you're here to stay. Don't ever set me free.”_

_Fuck_ , Waverly thought as Nicole’s song finished. She had forgotten there were other people in the room until the crowd applauded and the song came to a close. Waverly forgot herself for a moment and clapped along with them. Nicole tipped her hat in thanks and wandered back to their table in the back.

“Happy?” Nicole asked softly, cheeks still tinted.

“It was beau-...wonderful,” Waverly said, trying to hold back her gushing.

Nicole shook her head. “I can’t sing.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Waverly breathed, “It was lovely.”

It was lovely and damn if it didn’t make Waverly want to lean over and kiss Nicole right on the mouth in front of everyone. It felt like she was singing that song to her and only her and...yeah. Waverly was in trouble. The room started to feel small, like all eyes were on them and the room was getting smaller.

“I’m going to step outside for a moment,” Waverly said suddenly. “Can you-...would you like to join me?”

“Of course,” Nicole said, eyes sparkling. Waverly looked over her shoulder to make sure that Chrissy and Lucado weren’t looking as they walked out of the door. The sound from inside became muffled but they could still hear the music playing from outside the barn.

“It really was lovely,” Waverly said as she leaned against the barn. 

Nicole shrugged. “Not as lovely as you.”

“Stop.”

“What? It’s true,” Nicole chuckled.

“I thought you didn’t want me to kiss you,” Waverly said, eyes sparkling as they darted down to Nicole’s lips. “You’re making it awful hard to stand by that.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you, I think you know I do,” Nicole clarified, stepping closer as she took Waverly’s hand in her own. “I just...we both know there’s a lot to consider.”

Waverly licked her lips and nodded, eyes looking down at her boots. “Yeah.”

“Hey,” Nicole said softly so that Waverly looked up at her. Nicole pushed some of Waverly’s hair behind her ear with a smile. “You’re beautiful.”

Waverly scoffed but couldn’t fight the smile off her face as she looked down at her boots. Her stomach warmed pleasantly at the closeness to Nicole. She heard a familiar song start in the barn and she smiled up at Nicole in excitement.

“This is one of my favorite songs,” she confessed, taking Nicole’s other hand in her own so their hands swung between them. “My Momma and Daddy used to dance to it in the living room. On the few occasions I saw them happy.”

Nicole listened for a moment and smiled. “It’s so cheesy.”

“It is. So dance with me,” Waverly said as she put one hand over Nicole’s shoulder and kept the other one clasped.

“Dance? I can’t dance,” Nicole said even as her hand settled on Waverly’s waist.

Waverly shook her head. “I find that hard to believe. You? A charmer? Never learning how to dance?”

Nicole smiled as they started to sway to the beat. “Well...maybe I can dance a little.”

“Liar,” Waverly teased as they fell into an easy rhythm.

_I really got the feeling that I'll love you for a long long time. I felt it from the moment we met you didn't ask me my sign._

The moon shone above them, reflecting into brown eyes and Waverly felt her heart flutter. Maybe it was a mistake to dance with Nicole. The whole thing was too...romantic. Thy were under the moonlight, a romantic song playing in the background, even if someone was singing it badly...their bodies were so close and alcohol warmed their veins.

“This song is very heterosexual,” Nicole said with a teasing smile.

“Shut up,” Waverly said as she leaned a little more into Nicole, throwing her off balance for a moment. “It’s not about the _lyrics_ it’s about the _sentiment_.”

“Alright,” Nicole chuckled, “I believe you.”

_I love those silly things you do. You make me feel once more like an innocent child of two._

“Thank you,” Waverly said. She let go of Nicole’s hand and moved so both of her hands were around Nicole’s neck, her hands on Waverly’s bare waist below the tied up plaid shirt. Nicole’s hands felt like fire on her skin and she subconsciously pressed herself closer. 

“Waves,” Nicole said, her breath playing over Waverly’s lips.

“Yeah?” Waverly answered. She swore she could see the stars reflected in Nicole’s eyes.

“I guess this song isn’t half bad.”

“Damn straight, cowgirl.”

Nicole tilted her head back in a laugh and Waverly watched her throat flex, the creamy expanse of skin looking so kissable and so close. Nicole looked back at her and pressed her forehead against Waverly’s. She let her eyes flutter closed, heart fluttering like a wild bird in her chest at the closeness of it all. 

_I really got the feeling, got the feeling. I really got the feeling, got the feeling. I really got the feeling that I'll love you 'til my dying day_

As the last notes faded out, their swaying slowed until they were just holding each other, foreheads pressed together and eyes closed.

“Waves,” Nicole said, voice cracking. Waverly just hummed in response, noses brushing as she tried to retain all her self control and not lean forward to kiss Nicole. “I should go.”

Waverly swallowed thickly but nodded anyways. Nicole ran her nose up the bridge of Waverly’s and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead and Waverly felt a warmth spread through her entire body, settling low in her stomach as need ignited from just the simple touch.

“I’ll see you later,” Nicole whispered against her forehead before she took a pointed step away from Waverly. Her eyes opened, hands falling from Nicole’s neck and landing at her sides.

“I’ll see you later,” Waverly said, even as her body ached to reach for Nicole again. To tell her to forget everything they had talked about. She would abandon this stupid show for Nicole. At least in this moment. She knew things would change when she wasn’t caught up in the moment. But it was hard not to be caught up with Nicole.

Nicole tipped her hat at Waverly once more, smug smirk on her face as she drawled, “Ma’am.”

Waverly crossed her arms in front of her and smiled, shaking her head at Nicole who winked before turning around and getting back in her truck. Waverly leaned against the barn, watching Nicole drive away with the stars in her eyes.

***

_Next week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

_There is some horsing around!_

There’s a close up of a horse and a fake sound effect of it whinnying. Cut to Waverly on a horse, riding it up a path with the rest of the guys behind. The horse takes off in a little gallop and the other horses follow, some of the guys looking scared.

Cut to Perry’s interview. “I’m a...city boy. We don’t ride ponies there.”

_And then, Waverly chooses her final four._

All the guys are standing on stands for the rose ceremony. Waverly is in a beautiful dress and looking down at a rose in her hand, clearly torn. She has tears in her eyes as she looks up at the guys.

She takes a deep breath, “The rose goes to-”

The camera makes fast cuts between the guys. Perry, B-train, Champ, Chad and some others we have never seen before this moment.

_Next week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 is now posted on my[ Patreon. I'm not gonna say crazy shit happens in chapter 8 but...crazy shit happens.](https://www.patreon.com/bootsncatz) I'll be posting early posts of all my fics there as well as previews for upcoming ones. 
> 
> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	8. And Here I Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like midnight horse riding lessons and sweatshirt stealing...you'll enjoy this chapter.
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_Last week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

“We’re down to the final four and...I have to say, I never thought it was going to be this hard,” Waverly says in her interview. She’s looking off camera, tears shining in her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt anyone but...I have to.”

_Waverly had to make a tough decision at the rose ceremony._

“Perry,” Waverly says. She’s in a beautiful sequined dress, rose in her hand and a plate with two more on a stand next to her. Perry walks up to her with a big smile. “Will you accept this rose?” she asks.

“Of course,” he says, and she pins the rose onto his suit. He leans down and kisses her cheek before walking away. The camera cuts to the rest of the guys standing nervously back on some platforms.

Cut to Champ’s interview. “If Chad gets a rose today, and I don’t, I’m going to be so pissed.”

Cut to Chad. “There’s no way I’m going home tonight.”

“Champ,” Waverly calls, another rose in her hand. Champ walks up to her but not before shooting a glance over at Chad who looks pissed. “Will you accept this rose?”

“Absolutely,” he says. She pins the rose on him and he kisses her hand briefly. She smiles widely as he walks back to the stands, chest out proudly. Waverly picks up the final rose, face sober as she looks down at it. The camera cuts between B-train and Chad. 

“The rose goes to-” Waverly takes a deep breath and smiles sadly. “B-train.”

B-train visibly sighs in relief and walks down the platform to Waverly. 

“Do you accept this rose?” she asks with a soft smile.

“One hundred percent, baby,” he says. She pins the rose on him and he lifts his arms in victory yelling, “Goal!” 

He goes down on one knee and pumps his fist in victory before going back up the steps with the rest of the guys. 

Mark appears out of nowhere and says soberly, “Alright, gentlemen, all the roses have been handed out. Chad, you can say your goodbyes now.”

Chad rolls his eyes and walks down the platform, pushing Champ with his shoulder as he does. He ignores Waverly and rips off his microphone, throwing it to the side as he walks away. You can hear him saying, “This is [ _bleep_ ] bull[ _bleep_ ] as he walks out of the room.

_Stay tuned for more of The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

“I’m gonna what?” Waverly asked, trying to control the pitch of her voice. She twisted her fingers into her comforter, eyes like saucers.

“Go horseback riding,” Chrissy repeated with an apologetic smile on her face. “I’m sorry, Waves. I tried to talk Lucado out of it but they really are trying to embrace this whole...small town cowgirl thing.”

Waverly flopped onto her back, the bed bouncing a little with the force as she groaned. “Chrissy,” she drew out like a child.

“I know! But it’ll be fine,” Chrissy tried to assure her. “Just...sit on it. And let the horse do the rest.” She paused and frowned at her phone before slowly backing up towards the door of Waverly’s room. “I have to go. But...you’ll be fine!”

“When is this?” Waverly asked the ceiling.

“Two days! Good luck!”

Waverly heard the door shut as Chrissy left and covered her face with her hands, stomach turning nervously. She was expected to ride a _horse_. By herself. She barely thought before sitting up from the bed and slipping on her shoes to leave the house. She walked out onto the back porch and towards the barn. The main door was open so Waverly did a quick scan around to make sure no one was around before heading to the barn.

Chrissy had already “talked” to Waverly about Nicole. And by that, it essentially meant that Waverly denied anything happening between her and the ranch owner for fear that they would put her under Jeremy’s eye twenty-four seven, so she wouldn’t be able to sneak out to the barn anymore. Chrissy seemed worried that Waverly was going to ditch the show one day for Nicole and well...she wasn’t wrong. She had even taken the time to explain to Waverly how if she did break the contract, she would get none of the money and could probably be sued. Waverly tried to appear as unaffected by this as she could.

Waverly wandered into the barn and saw Nicole at the opposite end, carrying a large bale of hay by the straps and depositing it into one of the horse stalls. She went for another and her lean muscles practically bulged from her arms as she hefted it. Nicole tossed it easily into one of the stalls before bending down to pick something up from the floor, giving Waverly a great view of her ass in her jeans.

She sighed just as Nicole stood up and noticed her, a slow smile spreading over her face.

Waverly cocked her head to the side, small smile on her face as she walked over to Nicole. “So...are you _always_ doing some kind of sexy manual labor in a tank top or do I just have the best timing ever?”

Nicole laughed and rubbed the back of her neck, cheeks tinting. “Well, I do own a ranch. The manual labor kind of comes with it.”

Waverly leaned against one of the stalls as she looked at Nicole. She had almost forgot why she came here if it wasn’t for the horse who popped its head over the top of the stall towards Waverly. She jumped away from the stall with a surprised yelp and looked up at Nicole who was stifling a laugh behind her hand.

“Shut up,” Waverly said with a blush. “It came out of nowhere!”

“ _Daisy_ is the sweetest horse in the barn,” Nicole cooed as she walked up to the horse who nuzzled her chest with a snort. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Well I didn’t know that,” Waverly said, stepping up behind Nicole. She leaned her head on the back of her shoulder, peering over at the black horse. Nicole chuckled and reached into a pouch on her belt.

“Wanna feed her?” Nicole asked, holding out some pellets in her palm to Waverly. She eyed the food warily before looking back up at Nicole. “She won’t bite. Watch.”

Nicole held her hand, palm up, to Daisy whose lips moved over her hand until all the food was gone.

“See?” Nicole said getting more and handing it to Waverly. “It’s fun.”

“Fine,” Waverly said, stepping around in front of Nicole cautiously. Daisy moved her head towards Waverly and she stepped back into Nicole, who wrapped her arms around her from behind. 

“It’s alright. Just hold your palm out, fingers flat. Okay?” Nicole said, breath tickling Waverly’s ear.

Waverly shivered at the sensation and leaned back a little more. She did as she was told, Nicole’s arms around her making her feel safe and a little braver. With her palm out, Daisy nosed her hand at first before her lips moved around the food. Waverly squealed at the feeling, slightly velvety and wet, and Nicole laughed.

“See? Daisy is the sweetest,” Nicole said as she petted her nose. Waverly shook some of the horse spit off of her hand but then turned and wiped the rest on Nicole’s shirt. “Hey!”

Waverly shrugged and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s neck. “It’s fine, you’re already dirty.”

Nicole hummed and pulled Waverly even closer. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly, each curve molding together like they were meant to stand like this. Chest to chest.

“To what do I owe this visit,” Nicole said. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Well, it actually is about horses,” Waverly said, playing with the end of the short ponytail Nicole had pulled her hair into. “I have to ride horses for one of the upcoming dates.”

“But...you’re scared of horses,” Nicole said with a confused frown.

“I know.”

“So why are they making you ride a horse?”

“Well, I may have suggested I knew how to ride a horse…” Waverly trailed off, biting on her bottom lip.

Nicole snickered, head shaking in amusement. “Oh, darlin’, you really set yourself up for this.”

“Can you teach me?” Waverly asked a little too desperately.

“As if I’d say anything other than yes,” Nicole said quietly, dimples on display. “I can’t promise a miracle, but I can at least make it look like you’re not terrified of them. When is this horse riding date?”

“Two days,” Waverly said.

Nicole let out a long whistle. “Okay, come back tonight when the crew’s not around and we’ll do it okay? Er-” Nicole blushed at her choice of words. “I’ll teach you to ride. _Horses_. I’ll teach you to ride horses.”

Waverly smirked and pressed herself a little harder into Nicole’s body. “Deal.”

***

The field between the house and the barn had turned into something out of a romance novel. The sky was dark, stars shining brightly over her as lightning bugs flew through the air around her. Waverly waited by the pool impatiently until the sun set and the last of the crew left the house, to change into jeans and her boots before heading back towards the barn.

She was excited to spend time with Nicole, but mostly she was worried about this horse situation. By the time she made it to the riding ring behind the barn, her nerves had fully settled in her stomach. Nicole was back there putting a saddle on Daisy, Whiskey also wandering around the fenced in area.

“Hey,” Nicole smiled as she pulled on the saddle to test it. “Ready?”

“Oh we’re...jumping right into this?” Waverly asked as she hopped over the metal fence.

“We don’t have a lot of time, you know,” Nicole said, patting Daisy’s back and smiling at Waverly. She kicked a small set of wooden stairs next to the horse. “I brought you the mounting stairs and everything.”

“Thank you,” Waverly said as she cautiously climbed the steps. When she got to the top one, she felt Nicole place her hand comfortingly on her lower back, and she looked over at the redhead. “For once I’m taller than you.”

Nicole chuckled. “Yeah, don’t get used to it.”

Waverly leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss on Nicole’s cheek, electricity shooting up her spine at the brief contact. She pulled back and smiled at Nicole whose cheeks almost matched her hair, a stupid grin on her face. A stupid grin Waverly just wanted to kiss away. But she held back and put one foot in the stirrup before swinging her leg over the saddle and into the other stirrup.

This was the part she was okay with. The getting on and sitting on a horse. As long as it...wasn’t moving. Daisy shuffled a little and Waverly gripped the saddle horn tightly, body stiffening. Nicole smiled, hand on the horse’s neck to steady her.

“First lesson,” Nicole said softly, “you have to relax.”

“How am I supposed to relax when there’s a giant monster under me ready to throw me off at the first opportunity?” Waverly said quickly.

“What horse hurt you?” Nicole joked. Waverly shot her a warning look and Nicole smiled in apology. “Were you thrown from a horse before?”

“ _Buttercup_ ,” Waverly hissed bitterly as she thought on the memory. “That asshole had it out for me since day one. He _always_ went too fast and called me names.”

“Buttercup the _horse_ called you names?” Nicole said, corners of her lips twitching. Waverly nodded. “Do you speak horse?”

“No, but I could tell by the way he looked at me,” Waverly said. Daisy reared her head back and Waverly let out a small scream.

“Ssh, Waves, it’s okay,” Nicole said, setting her hand on her leg to calm her. “Remember, relax. The horse can tell when you’re tense and it gets tense.”

Waverly took a deep breath and reached for the reins as Nicole handed them to her. Calm. She could be calm. Nicole’s hand on her leg certainly helped, a warmth spreading up her body at the touch. She closed her eyes and just let herself breath for a moment before she nodded. She could be calm.

“Okay, lesson two,” Waverly said as her eyes fluttered open, immediately finding Nicole’s eyes.

“Lesson two,” Nicole said as she squeezed Waverly’s knee, “be confident.”

Waverly frowned at Nicole. “When do we get to the actual riding?”

“These are all very important steps to take,” Nicole said with a grave nod. Truly, Waverly would have just sat on that horse forever and let Nicole spout nonsense if it meant her hand stayed on her knee.

***

Waverly smiled broadly as she rode the horse around the circle. Nicole was standing in the middle of the ring, smiling on as the horse moved.

“Look at you, a regular cowgirl,” Nicole said with a wink. Waverly rolled her eyes and pulled back lightly on the reins until Daisy came to a stop like Nicole had told her. The horse slowed to a stop smoothly and Waverly’s smile only got brighter.

“That was all fine and lovely,” Waverly said. “But can I get off now?” 

Nicole nodded. “Of course, come on I’ll help you off.”

She stepped closer to Waverly, hand high on her knee and other hand reaching for her. Waverly looked down and just saw big doe eyes staring up at her, so gentle and lovely and Waverly just wanted to fall into them. And she did. 

Waverly wasn’t sure how she had maneuvered it so that she slid almost gracefully down the side of the horse facing Nicole. The taller woman’s hands were around Waverly’s waist as she slowed her descent to the ground. Waverly swore the whole thing went in slow motion.

Nicole’s hands were firm and gentle on her waist, easily lowering her to the ground from the horse. Waverly met Nicole’s eyes and couldn’t look away. Especially with the way the lightening bugs reflected in them like gold flecks, pale skin practically glowing under the moon. Her lips looked soft and pink, perfectly kissable and _balls_ Waverly really wanted to kiss her.

So she did.

As Nicole lowered her to the ground, she cupped her jaw between her hands, leaned forward and finally _finally_ connected their lips for the first time. All the thoughts of the show and Chrissy and Lucado and the guys flew completely out of her mind and all the air left her lungs. Waverly couldn’t be bothered with any of it when her lips were on Nicole’s. 

It started off soft, just a hint of shy hesitance as Waverly felt the softness of Nicole’s lips under her own. Nicole paused in shock for a moment before pulling Waverly fully against her, arms wrapping around her and drawing her close as she deepened the kiss. Waverly felt herself melting into a puddle as their lips moved against each other, the perfect push and pull like they’d been doing this for years. Waverly’s hands moved from Nicole’s jaw to the back of her head, curling into red hair and pulling her impossibly nearer.

Her heart was beating so hard and their bodies were so close that Waverly was sure Nicole could feel it all. That she could feel how her heart thudded in her chest and fingers shook with need. Electricity circulated through her entire body, each touch a spark of energy that she felt deep in her belly. The first touch of her tongue against Nicole’s lips was like fire and when Nicole’s tongue met hers Waverly was sure she would burn alive. And happily so. 

Nicole held Waverly so close that she was sure her feet weren’t touching the ground, suspended in the air as her heart took flight in her chest. 

Kissing Nicole just felt so...right. So _perfect_. It was exhilarating and terrifying. It was everything Waverly had ever hoped for and was so scared of getting. And here it was, all right here in front of her in a worn plaid shirt and a Stetson.

After a few more moments, Waverly’s lungs cried out for air and she pulled away from Nicole’s lips, but just barely. She still placed soft kisses on her lips between gasps for air, unable to stay away from Nicole’s lips for too long. Her hands, still tangled in her hair, kept Nicole’s head bent so that she could reach her lips.

Every nerve in Waverly’s body was on edge. She felt like she had gotten her first sip of water after days in the desert and she needed to feel Nicole everywhere. To be as close as possible to her. It was like Nicole could read her mind because she grabbed the back of Waverly’s thighs and lifted her, legs automatically wrapping around Nicole’s waist as their faces remained close. 

“God _damn_ that was sexy,” Waverly breathed before leaning back down to kiss Nicole. But her head bumped the edge of her Stetson so she plucked it off Nicole’s head and placed it on her own just so she could lean down and keep kissing Nicole without distractions.

Her legs tightened around Nicole’s waist as the redhead’s hands moved up and down her back, spending extra time lingering on the sliver of exposed skin between Waverly’s shirt and pants. Waverly could practically feel the blood pounding between her thighs. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever been so turned on in her life. Each little quip, each flirtatious glance or comment, all built to this moment where Waverly _needed_ Nicole. More than anything. More than air.

Their kissing got more desperate, tongues probing and exploring, teeth nipping at lips. Nicole briefly sucked on Waverly’s tongue and she moaned into the taller woman’s mouth, fingers tightening in Nicole’s hair and tipping her head back so that she could kiss along her jaw.

“Waves,” Nicole breathed like a prayer, hands settling on Waverly’s ass to keep her up around her waist.

“Take me inside,” Waverly whispered against Nicole’s ear before pulling the lobe between her teeth. Nicole let out a soft moan that Waverly felt between her legs. Nicole nodded wordlessly and began to back away towards the barn when-

“Waverly!”

They both froze at the voice, Waverly pulling back to look at Nicole whose eyes were as wide as her own. Her cheeks were flushed, lips swollen and Waverly couldn’t resist leaning down and kissing her again.

“Waverly!” Jeremy called again as he walked across the field towards the barn. Thankfully Daisy was blocking them from view so Jeremy couldn’t see their...compromising position.

Waverly growled in frustration and pressed her forehead to Nicole’s. Waverly placed a slow kiss on Nicole’s lips that turned into three then four then five until they were grinning like idiots.

“Do you think if I’m really still he won’t see me?” Waverly asked as her fingers fiddled with the edge of Nicole’s flannel. Her eyes darted back down to Nicole’s red lips, Waverly’s tongue peeking out to wet her own. Nicole chuckled and kissed the corner of Waverly’s lips.

“I don’t think we’re that lucky, darlin’,” she said, plucking the Stetson off Waverly’s head and putting it back on her own. Waverly reluctantly unwrapped her legs from Nicole’s waist and she was lowered carefully back to the ground. Waverly pouted briefly and straightened out her shirt, running a hand through her hair to tame it as Jeremy approached. She forced a smile and stepped out from behind Daisy, waving at Jeremy.

“Hey,” she said, “I was just...spending some time with the horses,” Waverly said, patting Daisy’s neck.

Jeremy got to the fence and waved at her. “Lucado sent me looking for you. She said you weren’t in your room.”

“Shit,” Waverly whispered under her breath, smile never faltering before she called out to Jeremy again. “I was right here. Just me and the horses. And...Nicole.”

Nicole tipped her hat to Jeremy and he waved back enthusiastically. Waverly sighed and rolled her shoulders before turning back to Nicole.

“Come to my room later?” Waverly asked, eyes wide and lip between her teeth. 

Nicole’s smile got impossibly wide. “I’ll be there,” Nicole drawled with a wink.

Waverly blushed, resisting the urge to kiss her again. “See you later then.”

She turned back around and headed back towards the house with Jeremy, unable to fight the smile off of her face.

***

When Waverly got back to her room, she immediately began putting away the bits of clothing scattered around. She wasn’t usually this messy, but she had gotten ready in a hurry before going to see Nicole and it looked like a whirlwind had passed through. 

Her lips were still tingling from kissing Nicole earlier, her body cooling down but still burning. She couldn’t keep away the smile that kept threatening to overtake her face. 

Waverly had _kissed_ Nicole. Finally. Something she had been dreaming about since...well, to be honest,probably since the first time she saw her. And it was even better than Waverly had imagined. Nicole’s skin was so soft and her mouth was hot and slick-

Waverly cleared her throat as she felt her face heat up along with the heat between her thighs. She had never been this instantly attracted to someone in her life. The constant flirtatious back and forth with Nicole certainly didn’t help. Waverly groaned and pulled out some sleep shorts and a tank top. Nothing _too_ explicit for when Nicole came over. She just didn’t know if she could stand being in these jeans anymore. The seam pressed into her a little too precisely, leaving her in a constant state of arousal. She quickly shucked them off and slipped into her pajamas, only having time to run a quick hand through her hair before there was a soft knock on her door.

She practically ran over to the door, pausing to take a deep breath before she answered it with what she hoped was a cool smile on her face. But as she as she opened the door and saw Nicole standing in front of her in a soft looking hoodie with her tank top underneath, short hair hanging in loose waves around her face and that same stupid smile with those stupid pink lips and all Waverly could think was-

_Holy shit balls I kissed this woman._

Suddenly her tongue felt twisted with nerves and she stuttered, “Hellya- um...hello.” Waverly blushed deeply, nose scrunching up as she cursed herself. Nicole just smirked at Waverly and leaned a little closer to her.

“Can I come in?” she asked softly, smiling with her tongue in between her teeth. “I really want to kiss you and I can’t do that out here.”

Waverly suddenly felt that fire roar to life again so she grabbed Nicole by the front of her sweatshirt and pulled her into the room. Nicole stumbled forward a little but as soon as the door closed, Waverly was pushing her back against it and covering her mouth with her own. Nicole’s body immediately opened up for Waverly to slip between her arms. Her stance widened and Waverly’s body slotted between them, hips bumping as they remembered what it was like to kiss each other.

“I missed you,” Waverly said, immediately regretting the confession. They had been apart for at most a half hour! How dumb could she be? Admitting that to a woman that she had just started kissing. Her eyes flitted down in embarrassment but Nicole’s hooked finger below her chin brought hazel eyes back to brown. 

“I missed you too,” Nicole said, running the end of her nose over the bridge of Waverly’s nose until her lips could peck the end of it.

Waverly’s embarrassment dissipated and she giggled as Nicole placed smiling kisses down her cheek and to her jaw. As soon as Nicole’s lips made it to the hinge of her jaw, the air in the room shifted and her giggles turned to a soft moan. Her hands fisted the edges of Nicole’s sweatshirt which...was really really soft. Waverly made a mental note to steal it later before tugging Nicole forward and away from the door. 

Nicole’s lips found hers again and Waverly slowly walked her towards the bed. Strong hands found Waverly’s hips and pulled her as close as they could be without tripping each other. They ended up tripping anyways but Waverly just fell backwards onto the bed with Nicole on top of her. It wasn’t as smooth as she had intended, but it had the same effect.

They were a tangle of limbs and small laughs as they slowly untangled themselves, lips never leaving each other’s. Waverly lifted her thigh to slot between Nicole’s, skin pressing against the rough fabric of Nicole’s jeans. Nicole sighed against Waverly’s lips as she positioned herself on her elbows and slid her own thigh high between Waverly’s. It was like two pieces of a puzzle coming together.

Waverly unzipped Nicole’s sweatshirt the rest of the way and pushed inside, hands running reverently up her sides and brushing along the sides of her breasts. She felt Nicole’s hips press subtly down into hers and she thanked all the gods for deciding to wear the thin shorts instead of keeping her jeans on. Nicole’s kisses moved to her jaw, nipping along the line there until she reached Waverly’s pulsepoint. She slipped her hands up the back of Nicole’s tanktop, hands feeling the smooth warm skin of her back as she pulled Nicole down against her.

She could still feel Nicole holding herself up on her elbows, maintaining at least a semblance of distance that Waverly wanted to abolish. Nicole’s teeth scraped against her pulsepoint and Waverly let out a soft whimper, thigh pushing up into Nicole who groaned against her skin. Waverly let her hands roam down to Nicole’s ass, palming the flesh over her jeans. Nicole rolled her hips, thigh pressing down where Waverly needed her most. Stars exploded in front of Waverly’s eyes, the heat between her thighs only getting worse now that she knew what relief could feel like. Waverly hoped it wasn’t blatantly obvious how turned on she was because she already had enough to be embarrassed about.

Waverly moved her hands up Nicole’s front, palms brushing past her breasts and up to her shoulders to push off her sweatshirt. But Nicole was too busy kissing across Waverly’s collarbone so the sweatshirt just caught on her upper arms and exposed Nicole’s shoulders.

Nicole grabbed the back of Waverly’s knee and pulled her leg high over her hip and connected their lips once more. Waverly’s hands searched for purchase, breathing becoming more labored. She raked her fingers through short red hair, nails scraping Nicole’s scalp as she tilted her hips up towards Nicole’s. 

They both gasped at the feeling, Nicole pulling away from Waverly’s lips long enough to look down at her. Brown eyes were blown out and Waverly was sure hers looked the same. She was completely hazed by lust, her brain struggling to form thoughts other than getting as close to Nicole as possible. Preferably with the least amount of clothing possible.

Waverly’s hands moved back down Nicole’s neck and palmed her breasts over her shirt. She heard Nicole’s breath hitch as their lips smashed together, moving together desperately as need seeped through every pore of their bodies. Nicole’s grip on Waverly’s knee got tighter as she pushed it higher, her thigh hitting Waverly in exactly the way she needed. She let out a strangled moan and pinched Nicole’s hardened nipples through her shirt. Waverly was sure she had soaked through her underwear and was well on her way to soaking through her sleep shorts.

Nicole started slowing their kisses, placing short soft ones on Waverly’s lips. Waverly groaned in frustration, pinching Nicole’s nipple a little harder than she meant to, causing Nicole’s hips to jerk down into her deliciously.

“Waves,” Nicole panted, lifting herself up on her arms again so she was hovering over Waverly. “Wait a second.”

Waverly groaned in protest but let her hands move to safer territory. She chose instead to push Nicole’s sweatshirt further down her arms until Nicole took it off and it fell next to them. Waverly made another mental note to not let her have it back as she ran her hands up and down Nicole’s strong arms.

“Why are we waiting a second?” Waverly asked, still breathless. A horrible thought came to her for a second and she froze. What if Nicole didn’t want this? “I’m sorry. Did you not-...I just kinda...jumped you-”

“No,” Nicole interrupted quickly, dropping another soft kiss on Waverly’s lips for good measure. She smiled softly. “I told you I wanted to kiss you, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Waverly breathed as Nicole kissed her again, smile curling the corners of her mouth.

“I just...think we should take things slow,” Nicole said. “For you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah.”

“What if I don’t want to take things slow?” Waverly whispered, one hand finding the back of Nicole’s neck to pull her lips closer again.

“Waves,” Nicole chuckled before sobering. “I’m serious. You’re-...there are seven guys-”

“Four, actually.”

“ _Four_ guys sleeping a few rooms away who all think you’re going to marry one of them,” Nicole said.

“I don’t want to marry them. I don’t even want to date them,” Waverly confessed.

Nicole smiled sadly. “And...when are you going to tell them that? _Can_ you even tell them that?”

Waverly bit her bottom lip and looked away. Nicole was right. Everything was a mess right now. She’d gotten so distracted by Nicole’s lips and just being with her that she hadn’t thought the rest of it through. The consequences. Although…

Waverly tried a convincing smile. “Are you...would you change your mind about being on camera?”

“What?” Nicole frowned.

“I mean,” Waverly shrugged, hands back to running up and down Nicole’s arms, “maybe if you...agreed to be on the show...I wouldn’t have to quit and Chrissy wouldn’t get in trouble.”

“Waverly,” Nicole started, “I-...no. I won’t do that. I don’t want to be on camera.”

“But why? You’re beautiful-”

“The camera changes people, Waves,” Nicole said with a shake of her head. “I have no interest in being in the spotlight that way. I just-...I can’t.”

Waverly sighed. “I get it.”

“Thank you,” Nicole said pecking her lips again. “So...I just don’t want to make things more confusing for you.”

“So no more kissing?” Waverly pouted.

Nicole chuckled and finally lowered herself down against Waverly’s body again. Waverly revelled in the feeling of Nicole’s weight over her, hands squeezing the taller woman’s biceps. 

“We can kiss,” Nicole said, nuzzling their noses together. “Just...nothing else.”

“Fine,” Waverly said with a playful roll of her eyes, arms going around Nicole’s neck. “I’ll figure this out, I promise.”

“I know you will,” Nicole said as they kissed once more.

***

_Next week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

Mark is sitting out by the pool with Waverly, both of them with wide smiles on their faces.

“So,” Mark starts, “How are you feeling, Waverly?”

Waverly crossed her legs, hands on her knees as she shrugged. “I’m so happy! Everyone is just-...I can really see myself falling in love with someone here.”

“That’s great! That’s the point!” Mark laughed, the two of them laughing together.

“I’m just excited to get to know these three guys better,” Waverly said with a wide smile. “I really feel like my future partner is here. I’m so excited.”

Mark smiles, “Are you ready for the Fantasy Suite next week?”

Waverly blushes and hides her face behind her hands, peeking over the top to look at Mark. “I’m nervous.”

“Well don’t be,” Mark said touching Waverly’s knee comfortingly. “Remember you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. And everything that happens is between you and the guys there. Okay?”

“Okay,” Waverly nodded.

Camera cuts to Perry’s interview. “Going into this week, I’m just going to focus on Waverly and taking our relationship to the next level. I’m a romantic guy, and I want to really bring on the romance. The Fantasy Suite is just another way to do that.”

We cut to Champ’s interview. He looks cocky, smug smile with too white teeth on display. “I’m a professional bull rider. I know how to tame a wild beast, you know? I think that whatever happens in that Fantasy Suite is going to really establish me as the front runner.”

Another interview, this time B-train. He’s smiling widely and just looks happy. “Next week is really important for really getting to know Waverly. I’m just excited to spend more time with her.”

_Next week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	9. I Will Always Love You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um...if you love drama...you'll love this chapter!
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

“If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be?” Nicole asked, voice soft. Waverly smiled and scooted a little closer to Nicole. Maybe she’d be able to catch the words better and keep them stuck in her memory. Every little word out of Nicole’s mouth committed to memory. They were lying on their sides in the bed facing each other. Waverly’s feet ran up and down Nicole’s shins playfully. She had long ago taken Nicole’s sweatshirt and slipped it on. And she was right. The sweatshirt was soft and warm, much like Nicole herself. 

“Anywhere?” Waverly asked with a raise of her eyebrow. 

“Anywhere,” Nicole repeated. 

“Dollywood,” Waverly said, blushing and hiding her face in the pillow beneath her head.

Nicole laughed and reached for Waverly’s hand, running her thumb over the back of it and sending goosebumps over her arm. “Waves, why are you hiding?”

“It’s embarrassing,” Waverly said, voice muffled in the pillow. She felt Nicole scoot closer and place a soft kiss under her ear, one of the only parts of Waverly’s face she could reach at the moment.

“Come back,” Nicole breathed in her ear. More goosebumps erupted over Waverly’s skin as Nicole’s breath tickled her ear and she blushed even deeper when she turned her head on the pillow and noticed how close their faces were. “It’s not embarrassing, it’s cute.”

“Is it?” Waverly asked.

“It is. Very cute. And understandable,” Nicole said with a nod. She shrugged and nuzzled Waverly’s nose with her own. “Maybe...we could go together. Some day.”

Waverly couldn’t help but kiss Nicole, both of them smiling so widely it was almost all teeth. She cupped Nicole’s cheek, thumb brushing over her cheekbone as she pulled away.

“I would like that a lot,” Waverly said. 

“Then I’ll take you to Dollywood, baby,” Nicole whispered. “just you and me.”

The nickname rolled off of Nicole’s tongue and landed, warm and soft, right on Waverly’s chest. She held it close. Waverly snuggled closer to Nicole, legs entwining as she fitted herself under Nicole’s chin. Her nose brushed the soft hollow of Nicole’s throat as they breathed together. Waverly’s heart was soaring, so full of happiness she was sure it would burst at any moment. She forgot for a moment that there was an entire show riding on her shoulders and a boy she was supposed to be engaged to by the end of it. For now it was just her and Nicole. And everything was perfect.

***

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

_Jealousy takes over the house._

Camera immediately cuts to Champ’s interview. He looks mad, sitting far back in his chair. “It’s the final few weeks and it’s starting to get intense. I don’t like sitting around and watching _my_ girlfriend go on these dates with other guys.”

Cut to a shot of Champ sitting on the couch as B-train leaves for a date with Waverly. He mutters under his breath. “This is bullshit.”

The camera goes back to Waverly on her date with B-train. They’re having a good time, just hiking through a forest and doing a ropes course. Waverly jumps down from a platform and B-train catches her, kissing her on the way down.

The camera cuts back to Champ sitting on the couch of the house just as B-train walks in. He stares an oblivious B-train down as he sits on the couch next to him.

“Ah, man, that was great,” B-train says with a sigh.

Champ scoffs. “Yeah, well enjoy your time now. Because she’s going to pick me and it’ll all be over for you.” He stands up from the couch and walks away, pouting like a child.

Perry sits on the other end of the couch looking amused. Cut to Perry’s interview where he’s smiling. 

“You have two boys and a man in the house right now,” Perry says confidently, “I think we know how this is going to go. Especially with the Fantasy Suites this week.”

Cut to Waverly’s interview. “I have three good men here and...I have no idea how I’m going to pick. This is...probably going to be the hardest decision of my life.”

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

It had become somewhat of a habit, Nicole sneaking in Waverly’s room at night. They never did more than kiss, but when their lips collided…

_Stars._

They would talk into the late hours of the night. At least as late as Nicole could manage to stay awake since she woke up with the dawn to do chores. One of Waverly’s favorite things was stirring awake just to see Nicole leaning over her and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, Stetson held to her chest. Once in a while Waverly would grab her open shirt and pull her back into bed, but usually Nicole would resist and tuck Waverly back between the sheets before slipping out.

Waverly would just bundle herself in Nicole’s stolen sweatshirt and drift off for a few more hours.

This particular morning, Waverly had heard Nicole being quiet as she got out of bed and used the restroom. She still feigned sleep, waiting for her goodbye kiss. When she felt Nicole’s lips on her cheek, she smiled and hummed, turning her head to meet Nicole’s lips with her own. 

“Mornin’, darlin’,” Nicole whispered, dimpled smile blinding Waverly. 

“Morning,” Waverly said, her fingers combing through the hairs at the nape of Nicole’s neck. “Come back to bed?”

“Can’t. There’s a summer storm coming,” Nicole said pecking Waverly’s lips again.

“How can you tell?” Waverly asked. 

Nicole leaned a little closer. “You can’t smell it?” 

Waverly shook her head, “What does it smell like?”

“It’s that heavy feeling in the air,” Nicole said, “Like you could reach out and touch the clouds. And it somehow already smells like wet dirt. And...the way it feels like there’s electricity everywhere. All in the air around us.”

Waverly hummed and threaded their fingers together. “So you should stay here so you don’t get rained on.”

Nicole shook her head. “I gotta make sure everything’s in order so it doesn’t flood.”

Waverly pouted but nodded. “Fine. Leave me then.”

Nicole chuckled and kissed Waverly’s pout away. “Dramatic. I’ll see you tonight.”

Waverly bit her lip, tugging a little too hard on Nicole’s hair as she remembered the schedule for the night. “I um...I can’t see you tonight.”

Nicole blinked at her but just nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll just-maybe the next day then. If I um-...what are they having you do?”

Waverly blushed deeply and sat up in bed, folding her legs in front of her. Nicole sat on the edge of the bed, brow still furrowed in curiosity. She played with the sheet that had pooled around her waist and wondered what the best way to approach this was. She figured jumping right into ‘I’m staying with Perry tonight and expected to sleep with him’ wasn’t the best.

“Well,” Waverly said softly. “It’s gotten to the point in the competition where things are getting...intense. With only a couple weeks left and all. So I’m um...they arrange for a night in the Fantasy Suite with me for each of the guys.”

Waverly watched as Nicole’s face fell in understanding. “Oh.”

“But I’m not going to actually like... _do_ anything,” Waverly said, trying to play it off with a laugh and snorting instead. “I’m not-...I wouldn’t.”

Nicole smiled stiffly and looked down at the way the sheets wrinkled under her thigh. “What you do is your own decision, Waverly.”

“And it’s my decision to not do anything,” Waverly said, ducking her head to meet Nicole’s eyes. She scooted a little closer to Nicole who finally looked back at her, jaw tight. “I want you to understand that.”

Waverly brushed her fingers along Nicole’s tense jaw until she felt it relax ever so slightly. She smiled gently, picking up Nicole’s Stetson from her lap and setting it carefully on the bed next to them. Nicole looked up as Waverly climbed into her lap, knees on either side of her hips and fingers brushing red hair from her face.

“Nicole, _baby,_ ” Waverly cooed, “I only want you.”

She watched as a soft smile bloomed on Nicole’s face. Waverly could still see the sadness behind them, but when Nicole looked up at her she saw it dissipate.

“Okay,” Nicole said, hands settling hot on Waverly’s bare thighs, just under the hem of her sleep shorts.

Waverly leaned forward and connected their lips, a slow dance. She wondered how long she could convince Nicole to stay with her as Nicole’s hands slipped to the back of her thighs and yanked her body closer. Her hips bumped high on Nicole’s stomach and she gasped into her mouth as her fingers laced behind Nicole’s neck, all thoughts of the guys far from her mind.

***

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

We see Waverly standing on a balcony, sun setting in the background. She’s wearing a ball gown that’s slit high up her leg, wind blowing her hair lightly as she looks seriously out at the skyline. 

Her voiceover says, “I’m taking this week very seriously. I think that...well I wanted to have my decision made by the end of the week. But I don’t think it’s happening. We’ll see how the dates with the guys go.”

Cut to Waverly and Champ sitting on a couch. They’re just talking when Champ leans over and begins kissing Waverly. He paws at her hip and draws her close as she frames his face with her hands. 

The camera cuts back to Waverly’s interview. “This week is all about seeing who’s the most comparable. Who will be a good partner? Who do I want to spend the rest of my life with?”

It cuts to a montage of Waverly kissing all the different guys. We see her pull away from Perry and whisper, “Want to...go to the Fantasy Suite?”

Perry smiles, “Of course.”

There’s another montage of Waverly closing the door to the Fantasy Suite with the different guys from different days. 

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

Waverly took the hottest shower of her life after her night in the Fantasy Suite with Champ. They hadn’t slept together like was expected. Like they let the cameras think. Oh no. Waverly kissed him for a little bit but when he started to get handsy she quickly told him she wasn’t feeling well and sent him to the couch at the end of the bed to sleep on. 

She left before he woke up the next morning and when she walked out to the car waiting to take her back to the house, Chrissy was waiting for her. She wriggled her eyebrows at Waverly and asked for details, but Waverly let her friend know she was not interested in… _that_. 

Thankfully the ride back to the ranch was short, but it felt like forever, having not seen Nicole in four days. It was so early that the sun was just barely coming over the horizon. Waverly couldn’t help but look over at Nicole’s barn as they drove up. Her truck was there but there was another car next to it. A fancy one Waverly had never seen before. She frowned, hands tightening over her knees. 

Once they dropped her off, Waverly had to force herself not to run straight over to the barn. So she took her shower instead, washing off all of Champ’s cologne that had clung to her the night before. 

She shrugged on Nicole’s sweatshirt, checked to make sure there was no one around and headed out to the barn. Her eyes lingered on the expensive car for a moment. All shiny black and sleek leather seats like something a lawyer or doctor would drive. 

Waverly walked up to the barn door and knocked, rocking nervously on the balls of her feet. She heard talking on the other side of the door and couldn’t help but smile as soon as the heavy door opened. Nicole’s red hair came into view and Waverly practically beamed. 

“Hey,” she said shyly. 

Nicole smiled, slow and sleepy. “Hey, darlin’.”

“Nicole, where do you want me to put this?” Came a voice from up the stairs. 

Nicole blushed and looked over her shoulder, Waverly’s eyes following until they landed on a tall beautiful woman at the top of the stairs. She was holding a box and looking over the railing at Nicole. 

“Just um...set it down, I’ll worry about it later,” Nicole said. The woman sighed and turned back around out of view. Nicole turned back to Waverly with a small smile. “That’s um...Shae.”

“Oh.” Waverly blinked at her for a moment before it clicked. Shae. Her ex-wife. _Beautiful_ ex-wife. “ _Oh._ ”

“Come in,” Nicole said, stepping aside for Waverly. 

“I can...come back,” Waverly said, already starting to back away. 

Nicole cocked her head like a confused puppy, dark brows furrowed. “Why? I missed you,” she smiled softly and dipped her head in a gesture for Waverly to come inside.

Waverly stopped her retreat. Nicole’s smile was infectious and she _missed_ her. 

“But your wife is here,” Waverly said softly, her own insecurities leaking out. 

“ _Ex_ -wife.”

“Why is she here…so early? In the morning?” Waverly asked like it wasn’t a big deal. Even if her stomach twisted like her heart was about to be broken. It wasn’t like she and Nicole were exclusive or anything. Clearly. Things were very much up in the air but the idea that Nicole might have...well... might have fucked her tall, beautiful, clearly successful ex-wife...that struck a chord with Waverly. Here she was just a silly girl from the middle of nowhere who had to go on a dating show to make money for school. 

Waverly tugged Nicole’s sweatshirt closer around her. 

Nicole looked at Waverly for a moment before realization came over her face. She smiled as she reached for Waverly’s hand and pulled her into the barn. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Nicole cupped Waverly’s face in her hand and kissed her. Sure and firm. 

Waverly melted into the kiss, all the air leaving her lungs. Nicole pulled back but kept Waverly wrapped in her arms. 

“Shae came to drop off some boxes that I left at her place,” Nicole whispered. “That’s it.” Waverly felt relief run through her and she rested her forehead on Nicole’s collarbone, trying to hide her smile. 

“I was just wondering,” Waverly mumbled against Nicole’s shirt. 

“I like your sweatshirt,” Nicole said, eyes shining. Waverly pretended like she was just noticing the sweatshirt and shrugged. 

“Just something I had lying around,” Waverly teased. 

Nicole chuckled and kissed Waverly’s forehead as the sound of footsteps started down the stairs. Waverly pulled away with a blush and looked back to see Shae walking down the stairs with a small smile on her face. 

“Don’t let me interrupt, I was just leaving,” Shae said with a wave of her hand and a small wink at Waverly. She blushed even deeper under the other woman’s attention. Shae was absolutely beautiful. Even more so up close. It was no wonder Nicole had fallen for her so quickly. She looked like there was a constant spotlight on her and Waverly bet she was one of those people who couldn’t take a bad photo. 

“Thanks for dropping the stuff off,” Nicole said before hugging Shae. Waverly felt her jealousy flare up again but she just turned away and licked her lips when she saw Shae kiss Nicole’s cheek. 

“No problem,” Shae said as she pulled away, one hand squeezing Nicole’s shoulder as she whispered. “Always picking the complicated ones.”

“Bye, Shae!” Nicole said a little too loudly. Shae just chuckled and waved at them over her shoulder as she left the barn. 

“She’s pretty,” Waverly practically blurted as soon as the door closed behind her. Nicole just blinked at her for a moment and for some reason, Waverly couldn’t stop herself from talking. “Like _really_ pretty. Supermodel pretty even. If supermodels also seemed really smart. Is she a...lawyer?”

“Doctor.”

“Oh, god, of course she’s a beautiful lady doctor,” Waverly muttered.

Nicole reached for Waverly’s hand and laced their fingers together, thumb rubbing the back of her hand to get her attention. Waverly looked back at Nicole, her easy smile making her relax a little. Nicole raised her hand to her lips, kissing the back as she smiled at Waverly. 

“Jealous?” Nicole whispered as she dropped their hands between them. 

Waverly blushed. “Sorry.”

Nicole shook her head and pulled Waverly’s hand around her waist, her own arms looped around Waverly. She ducked her head a little, head tilted as she spoke softly. 

“Don’t apologize. I...know a little bit about that,” Nicole said. Waverly looked up and saw something flicker behind brown eyes that she just knew was her fault. She squeezed Nicole a little as her heart ached. 

“Do you...get jealous?” Waverly asked. 

Nicole shrugged and avoided Waverly’s eyes for a moment. “I mean...you are supposed to marry one of them. And you did just spend the past week in...Fantasy Suites with them. Sex Suites more like.”

Waverly squeezed Nicole again until their eyes met. “Nothing happened,” Waverly said, trying to be reassuring. 

“Yeah but-“ Nicole stopped short and rubbed the back of her neck. Waverly could feel her pulling away a little and squeezed her tighter. Nicole sighed, body deflating. “It’s hard to...see you kiss them. I know it’s not fair, we’re not-...but you just look...happy. With them. I try to avoid the filming but it’s kinda hard sometimes.”

Waverly thought back to the karaoke night. To someone kissing her on stage...she couldn’t even remember who. But then she thought of Nicole sitting in the back and watching. She swallowed thickly and wished she could take it all back. 

“Nicole-“

“Don’t apologize,” Nicole said firmly. “It’s not your fault. I...chose to fall for a girl on a dating show.”

The smile on Nicole’s face comforted Waverly a little. But just a little. God it would just be so much easier to call it quits, but she knew she knew it was impossible. It would open up a shit storm she didn’t want to unleash. A storm that would take out her and Chrissy and...probably Nicole. 

Waverly played with Nicole’s collar, fingers twisting the fabric to feel the texture. 

“Sor-“

“Stop.”

“Fine,” Waverly said, tugging Nicole down for a soft kiss. Nicole chuckled against her lips and began walking them back towards the stairs. 

“You know...I have a nice couch upstairs where horses can’t watch us,” she said softly. Waverly pulled away and looked over to see Whiskey staring back. 

“Probably for the best,” Waverly said, taking Nicole’s hand and leading her up the stairs. 

***

Waverly sat on the porch at a small table with Champ, plates of uneaten food in front of them . It was the one thing that bothered Waverly about the show the most. Oddly enough, at their “dinner dates”, they never actually ate. It was too much noise for the camera and too much of a chance that someone might look dumb while eating. Instead they fed them before, off camera, then made them sit in front of food they had no intention of eating.

She tried to be present with Champ, but her mind kept wandering to the night before when she had fallen asleep wrapped up in Nicole’s arms. It had been a dream, to say the least. And all she could think about was the next time she’d see her.

She had started to see what Nicole was talking about when she said she could smell the storm coming. The air felt thick and the smell of rain only swelled around them. 

Champ had been a little sore since the Fantasy Suite. He had bought her story that she wasn’t feeling well that night.

“You know, Waves, I’ve been having a hard time,” Champ said as he reached for her hand. It was hot and heavy as it covered her own and she resisted the urge to pull away.

“With what?” she asked, covering his hand with her own.

“I just...I’m falling in love with you,” he sighed, head bent but shoulders back like he had played some kind of trump card. Waverly felt her stomach twist but kept her face neutral for the cameras around them. “And...it’s really hard to see my girlfriend with all these other guys. You know?”

Waverly blinked at him and shook her head slightly. “I-...what do you mean?”

“I don’t like that you’re going on dates with Perry and B-train,” he said with a shrug.

“Champ,” Waverly said slowly. “I’m so glad you’re opening up to me. And I’m so thankful for it. But I-...I haven’t chosen someone yet. You know? I’m still trying to figure out what I want.”

Champ’s hand tightened a little over Waverly’s. “I just want to protect you,” Champ said leaning closer to her. “And it’s hard to not be able to. Like...I don’t like that butchy redhead that’s always hanging around you.”

Waverly’s blood ran cold and she could practically hear Chrissy gasping in her earpiece. She swallowed thickly, sweat gathering along the nape of her neck as she licked her lips.

“I-...don’t know what you’re talking about,” Waverly said with a dismissive laugh and a small shake of her head. She was suddenly acutely aware of every camera on her and she tried to focus on Champ.

“Come on, Waves,” he scoffed. “I saw her leaving your room this morning. She’s trying to turn you.”

Waverly suddenly pulled her hands away from Champ, who looked like he’d just been slapped. She took a deep breath and forced a small smile.

“First of all, Champ, that’s not how that works,” she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly. “Secondly, she’s a friend and I’d appreciate you not speaking ill of her. And third, you can’t be possessive Champ. I thought you were a better man than that and-...I don’t know. This is making me doubt myself I-...sorry. I have to go.”

Waverly stood up and Champ moved to grab her wrist but thought better of it and sat back in his chair instead. Waverly gathered her coat from the back of the chair, her insides so twisted with tension that she couldn’t help but clutch her stomach as she walked away from the table. The cameras were following her, she could feel them. But she had to just breathe for a second. She walked out to a nearby balcony and leaned on the rail, letting out a shaky breath.

“Waves,” she heard Chrissy say in her headset, “are you okay?”

“Can I just have a second?” Waverly whispered, eyes closing.

She heard a couple of the camera men mutter to each other before backing away and leaving her alone on the balcony. After she knew she was alone, she covered her mouth and let the fear slowly seep into her veins. Champ had seen Nicole. Champ had just told everyone he saw Nicole. Which meant it was only a matter of time before everyone was asking about it. 

Waverly thought for a moment. She could play it off. She could say Nicole was just a friend. But Chrissy would know. She always knew. 

Her first thought was to protect Nicole. To keep her from the spotlight as much as possible. And to talk to Nicole. She _had_ to talk to her.

“Waves?”

Waverly took a deep breath, dropped her hand from her mouth and turned around to see Chrissy. She smiled weakly at her friend, who didn’t smile back.

“Lucado wants to talk,” she said flatly. 

Waverly wiped a stray tear from her cheek that she hadn’t realized had even fallen and chuckled humorlessly.

“I’m guessing this isn’t about what bathing suit I’m going to wear in the next hot tub scene,” Waverly muttered.

“‘Fraid not,” Chrissy said with a sympathetic smile. Waverly sighed and tipped her head back to look at the sky. Chrissy put her arm around Waverly’s shoulders and squeezed her to her side. “I told you not to fraternize, Waves.”

Waverly didn’t say anything, just blinked and wished the tears would go away. She didn’t want to cry. It would just be evidence that she’d done something wrong.

“Alright,” Waverly said leaning into Chrissy. “Let’s go.”

***

Waverly felt like a kid walking to the principal’s office. Chrissy led her to the chairs by the pool where Lucado was sitting, typing away on her phone like usual. Waverly sat across from her, nervously crossing her knees as Lucado finished whatever she was typing on her phone. She pressed the final button with a flourish before finally turning her attention to Waverly.

“Ms. Earp,” Lucado said with a small sigh. “I believe we talked about this previously but it doesn’t appear to have sunk in.”

Waverly blushed, but still tried to look confused. “I um...I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about.”

Lucado hummed. “Waverly. You’re a smart girl, that’s part of why we chose you. We wanted to change it up from the usual air headed beauty queens that we get in here. Don’t insult me or yourself by pretending that you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Waverly’s entire face heated and she licked her lips. “I...assume you’re talking about Nicole then.”

“Yes. We checked the camera footage to see if Hardy had seen things correctly and surprisingly he did. We have footage of Nicole leaving your room for three consecutive mornings and while we can’t prove that anything...nefarious happened, we certainly can infer it. Which would put you in direct violation of your contract. Not to mention the sound bites we have from a time you forgot to take your mic off after the karaoke group date.”

Lucado’s face was hard and Waverly tried to read her but couldn’t. Waverly’s stomach turned and she was sure she was going to be sick. She looked over at Chrissy who had an equally unreadable expression on her face. Waverly licked her lips and waited for Lucado continue.

“That being said,” she sighed, “we can work through figuring out the loopholes of the contract with you if you get Miss Haught to agree to be on the show.”

Waverly blinked at her before letting out a sharp bark. She looked over at Chrissy, confused smile still on her face. “I um...that’s not going to happen. What good would it do anyways? There’s only two weeks left of filming and she’s not in any of the footage.”

Lucado looked bored for a moment before her thin lips curved into the barest of smiles. “Earp, there are cameras all over property. While Miss Haught may have put it in her contract that she doesn’t appear on the show, it’s impossible for her to avoid the cameras. We have cameras throughout the house, on the outside of the house, around the _barn_.”

The way Lucado emphasized the end of the sentence, Waverly knew that Lucado was just as positive she’d find something interesting on those tapes if she searched hard enough as she was. Waverly licked her lips, blood running like ice as she tried to think of a solution.

“It’s reality television, we can take the smallest amount of footage and turn it into ten hours of television with the right dramatic cut-aways,” Lucado shrugged. “We could take whatever footage we have of you two sneaking around, cut together some drama with the guys and use it for the entire season. _If_ you get Haught to agree to it.”

Waverly shook her head again, jaw tight. “Force her to do something she doesn’t want to do...why? Just so I don’t break my contract?”

“Basically,” Lucado said. Waverly looked over at Chrissy, pale faced and wringing her hands in her lap.

Waverly’s heart began to beat faster against her ribs, panic rising in her throat like bile. “You can’t just...fuck with people’s lives like this. For a goddamn tv show.”

“It’s a business. It’s why we sign contracts,” Lucado said coolly. “We’ll give you until tomorrow to figure out what you want to do.”

“This is bullshit,” Waverly said, standing up quickly. 

Lucado shrugged. “This is reality television. Same difference.”

***

Waverly had started back towards her room, heels clipping against the tile of the house floors. Her throat was tight but she couldn’t let herself cry. Her head was a storm of emotions and she almost didn’t notice she was turning away from her room and out of the house until the sound of her heels changed against the concrete of the porch. 

Thunder rumbled through the air around her and she crossed her arms tight over her chest. The sequins of the fancy dress they had shoved her in for the date with Champ scratched at her bare arms as she walked, and her heels started to sink into the dirt as she crossed the field but she couldn’t bring herself to care. 

In the time that Waverly had been talking to Lucado and tried to escape to her room, she had realized something wonderful and horrible and probably the worst thing that could happen. 

Waverly was in love with Nicole. 

And it was _balls_. 

It was _balls_ timing and a _balls_ situation. All she wanted to do was to run away with Nicole and never look back. The kind of romantic situation every girl dreamed about when she thought about being in love. Before you considered the problems and responsibilities of being an adult. 

Waverly knew it was selfish, but she just wanted to be with Nicole. She just wanted to forget all this shit for a _few minutes_ and spend time with Nicole. The woman she couldn’t call her girlfriend but she was pretty sure she wanted to marry. 

When Waverly was about halfway across the field, the thunder got louder and the sky opened up. Rain poured down from the clouds and Waverly growled in frustration. The rain was warm, a summer storm just as Nicole had predicted. 

“Seriously?” she yelled at the sky as she continued towards the barn. She could hardly see it anymore through the sheets of rain falling in front of her. Her hair stuck to her face, dress clinging to her even more than it had before and she was pretty sure it was bordering on sheer now. But she saw the barn door was open and a figure sprinting out towards her. 

“Waverly?” Nicole yelled as she got closer. “What the hell are you doing?” 

Waverly’s heart jumped into her throat just at the sight of Nicole, all the worries from her meeting with Lucado seemed to fade away as she approached her. Nicole was still too far away so she sprinted the rest of the way to her, their bodies colliding almost painfully. Her arms went around Nicole’s neck, Nicole’s around her waist as she lifted her from the ground, and their lips connected in a bruising kiss. 

Nicole’s fingers pushed some of the hair away from where it was plastered on Waverly’s cheeks as they kissed. Waverly hung from Nicole’s neck as she kissed her more passionately than she had ever kissed anyone before. 

They had to separate for air but Waverly cupped the back of Nicole’s head to keep their faces close. Their foreheads pressed together, breath mingling and lips brushing as they breathed, Waverly stared at Nicole. 

“Why are you running through the rain, baby?” Nicole asked softly.

“I needed to see you,” Waverly panted, trying to blink away the rain from her eyes. She wanted to tell Nicole that she loved her. That she wanted to leave this whole crazy show and just be with her. In her mind it was all very romantic, especially with the way they were kissing in the rain. How could it get more romantic than that? But instead she said-

“You know...how you rode that bull?” Waverly breathed. 

Nicole blinked at her for a moment but then nodded. “Yeah.”

“I need you to ride me like that,” Waverly said without even the hint of a blush. 

Nicole audibly groaned and the sound hit Waverly right between the legs. Nicole pulled Waverly even closer if that was possible. “Are you serious?”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

Nicole smirked and kissed Waverly, tongues almost immediately meeting in a slow dance that sent heat through Waverly’s veins. She pushed her fingers through Nicole’s wet hair and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Nicole slowly put Waverly back on the ground and pulled away, smirk still firmly in place.

“Than I guess we should get out of this rain, huh?” Nicole said lowly. And Waverly could only nod. Nicole looked down with a frown and back up at Waverly. “Did you run here in heels?”

Waverly blushed and shrugged. “I was in a hurry.”

Nicole laughed before dipping down and picking Waverly up bridal style. Waverly’s arms immediately looped around Nicole’s neck and she dropped hot, open mouthed kisses along Nicole’s jaw as she carried her to the barn. Her dress felt stupidly heavy now that it was soaked through and it just reminded Waverly of how strong Nicole really was. 

She carried her into the barn and up the stairs, pausing only when Waverly curled her tongue around her earlobe. Nicole sighed and gritted out, “You’re making this really hard.”

“I can stop?” Waverly said, blowing hot breath across Nicole’s ear. 

“Don’t you dare,” Nicole laughed as she turned her head to catch Waverly’s lips with her own, swallowing any sort of response she might have had. 

It felt like every little moment, every look and touch and quip and kiss had led to this. All the build up over the past few weeks, all the sexual tension had finally come to a head. It settled low in her belly, setting every nerve on fire and making her skin crave Nicole’s touch. Waverly wanted her hands on every part of her.

Nicole paused before they reached the bedroom and Waverly dragged her lips across the sharp edge of her jaw to her lips. She cupped Nicole’s cheek and brushed her tongue along her lower lip, sighing when Nicole’s mouth opened and her tongue met her own. She tried to pour everything into the kiss, to quell every fear Nicole might have in this moment. Waverly wanted her. Needed her. She needed Nicole to know how sure she was that this was the right thing. The right choice.

She felt Nicole’s grip tighten on her as she kicked the bedroom door open, a smile working its way onto Waverly’s lips before she walked in and kicked the door closed behind them. Nicole slowly lowered Waverly to the ground, their lips still connected. When Nicole straightened back up, Waverly kept her arms around her neck and their bodies close.

“Waverly,” Nicole started again. Her eyes were wide in the dimly lit room, pupils blown and lips red from kissing. Red hair was plastered to her face and Waverly smoothed it away from her face, still wet from the rain. They were dripping all over the floor but neither of them seemed to care. Nicole’s hands skirted up the exposed back of Waverly’s dress to the strap that looped around her neck and kept the dress up before moving back down to the dip of her lower back. Waverly shivered, both from the feeling and from the sudden chill she got from being soaked in rain. “You’re cold.”

“I imagine you’re going to warm me up soon,” Waverly said with a flutter of her eyelashes. Nicole’s tongue darted out to wet her lips as she just stared at Waverly.

“I-...are you sure?” Nicole asked again. “I just-...the show…”

Waverly shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about that. It doesn’t matter,” Waverly whispered. “You’re the only person I care about. It’ll be fine. I promise.”

“You promise?”

“Yes,” Waverly said, tipping her chin up so she could brush her nose against Nicole’s.

Nicole surged down then, kissing the breath out of Waverly. Her hands trailed down Nicole’s neck and over her collarbones, flattening along her chest to Nicole’s breasts. Feeling the pebbled nipples against her palms, Waverly groaned, thumbs brushing over them and feeling them stiffen even more.

Waverly’s hands found the edge of Nicole’s soaked tank top and slipped under it, smoothing the plane of Nicole’s stomach. She felt the muscles jump under her hands and wasted no time in pushing it up and over Nicole’s head. An act that proved...a little difficult with how wet the shirt was. Nicole’s hair flopped down in front of her face, water droplets splashing over them and making them giggle. Nicole’s tank top hit the hardwood with a wet _’slap’_. Waverly was about to ask Nicole if they should put their clothes in the bathtub or something but her mouth was covering her own in an instant, chasing away any words Waverly might have had left. 

In her heels she was still shorter than Nicole, but had a better height advantage. She raked her fingers through Nicole’s hair, squeezing some of the excess water from it. It dripped down Nicole’s back and she shivered, pushing herself closer to Waverly.

“Cold,” she whispered. 

“I’m trying to get the water out,” Waverly explained. A mischievous look came over Nicole’s face and she pulled away just enough to shake her head like a dog, sending water flying all around them. Waverly squealed in surprise and put her hands on either side of Nicole’s face to stop her, both of them laughing as she kissed her over and over. Waverly pulled back just to see Nicole’s short hair sticking up at odd angles from the water.

Waverly chuckled. “Get me a towel.”

Nicole groaned, clearly inconvenienced at having to leave Waverly, but pecked her lips one more time before pulling away towards the bathroom. She was back in a flash with two fluffy looking towels, handing one to Waverly. Nicole began to wring out her hair in her own towel and Waverly gripped her wrist, stopping her. 

“Let me,” Waverly smiled. Nicole lowered her hands from her hair and Waverly took her towel, gently rubbing it over Nicole’s head to get some of the water out. Brown eyes fluttered shut at the feeling, jaw going slack. Something about the act felt more intimate than anything they had done before. Just running the towel through Nicole’s hair. Waverly’s chest ached at the feeling and she couldn’t help but press a small kiss to her lips before she rubbed the towel more vigorously over Nicole’s scalp.

Nicole stopped her by grabbing her wrists and pulling her arms around Nicole’s neck, the towel forgotten on the floor. Nicole took the fresh towel that had been draped over Waverly’s shoulder and wrapped her long hair in it to squeeze it out. Waverly’s head tipped back a little bit at the action and she couldn’t help but moan as the towel tugged a little on her roots. Nicole’s eyes darkened even more and she dipped down to press a kiss to the hollow of Waverly’s throat. Her teeth scraped at the sensitive flesh and Waverly’s hands flew to Nicole’s hips. She pulled her as close as she could, mind focused on how Nicole was nibbling and kissing up the column of her throat.

Waverly sighed and flexed her hands on Nicole’s hips, thumbs sweeping along the soft skin there and dipping below the waistband of her sweatpants to tease along the edge of her underwear. She felt Nicole’s hips flex ever so slightly towards her and she started to push the sweatpants down her hips. The wet material clung a little bit to her lanky frame, but Nicole quickly stepped out of it and pushed them away with her foot.

Waverly tried to pull away to take an appreciative look at Nicole’s body, but their lips were together once more and Nicole started walking her backwards towards the bed.

The dress, now soaked with rain, hung heavy on Waverly’s frame. She was actually surprised that the weight hadn’t stripped her of it yet on it’s own. Nicole’s hand cupped the back of Waverly’s neck, fingers playing with the button solely responsible for keeping the dress up.

“Can I?” Nicole whispered against Waverly’s lips.

Waverly nodded dumbly and quickly turned around, one hand brushing her damp strands away from her back for Nicole to see the button. The gentle sweep of Nicole’s fingers, hot and sure as they ran up her spine made Waverly’s body bow back into her, seeking more contact. She could feel Nicole’s body heat behind her, pressed just barely against her as Nicole’s mouth tasted the skin at the sensitive spot where her shoulder met her neck.

Nicole’s lips moved across her shoulder and directly under the clasp of the dress. The hot, silky way her tongue moved over Waverly’s skin made her wonder how it would feel elsewhere and heat shot between her thighs. Nicole undid the dress easily and pressed herself closer to Waverly’s back as she guided the sequined fabric down Waverly’s front, revealing her breasts.

She felt Nicole’s breath hitch at the sight of her. She smoothed her hands over Waverly’s stomach and brushed the underside of her breasts. Waverly pressed her hips back into Nicole and let the dress fall the rest of the way to the floor so she was standing in just her heels and panties.

Her arms itched to cover herself, hands curling and uncurling into fists self consciously as Nicole ran her nose up the side of Waverly’s neck, breathing her in. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Nicole whispered against her skin before pulling Waverly’s earlobe between her teeth. “So so beautiful, Waves.”

Her thumbs brushed over the sensitive flesh of Waverly’s nipples and she felt the last shred of her self consciousness melt away. It felt like Nicole was appreciating her body...worshipping it. The slow kisses along her neck and the gentle way Nicole was kneading her breasts...not like she was delicate and would break. But like she was something precious she wanted to take her time to appreciate. 

It just heated Waverly’s skin even more. She could feel the arousal slick on the inside of her thighs, panties probably completely ruined. Waverly tipped her head back against Nicole’s shoulder and she wasted no time to lower her mouth and nibble along the line of Waverly’s shoulder. One of Waverly’s hands reached back and cupped the back of Nicole’s neck, keeping her in place. Her fingers curled into the damp hairs at the base of Nicole’s neck and pulled lightly.

Nicole was going slow, clearly taking her time, but Waverly was getting more and more impatient. Especially when one of Nicole’s hands moved from her breast to tease the edge of her panties. Waverly felt her stomach muscles hop at Nicole’s touch and she turned, kicking away the heavy dress; she was sure the wardrobe people would have a heart attack to see it lying on the floor in a heap. 

Admittedly, she felt a little bit like a porn star standing there in just panties and heels, but the way Nicole’s eyes roamed heatedly over her body as she turned was worth it. Waverly took a finger and brushed it lightly over Nicole’s parted lips, watching as Nicole’s tongue darted out to try and catch her finger.

Waverly pressed herself against Nicole, unable to keep their lips apart for too long. The pounding between Waverly’s thighs was becoming unbearable. She had been turned on for weeks. Before Nicole had even really touched her. And now they were here, mostly naked, and things weren’t moving fast enough for Waverly’s taste. 

As they kissed, Waverly awkwardly lifted her foot up in an attempt to unbuckle her heels. She stumbled forward a little bit and groaned in frustration.

“Let me, baby,” Nicole said, pushing gently on Waverly’s hips until she sat down on the bed. Nicole’s lips followed, hands never leaving Waverly’s hips as she sank to her knees between Waverly’s legs. Waverly’s breath hitched as Nicole’s hands squeezed at her firm thighs, trailing lightly over the back of her calves to the buckle at the back of her heel. 

Nicole looked up at Waverly through her lashes as she slipped one of Waverly’s feet out of the heel. She ducked her head and placed a soft kiss on the inside of Waverly’s knee. Her breathing started to get shallow as Nicole easily took the other heel off and her kisses started to move slowly up Waverly’s inner thigh. The kisses were soft, almost non existent like whispers across her sensitive skin and it was driving Waverly crazy. Nicole’s kisses continued high on Waverly’s thigh, cheek just barely brushing the soaked cotton of her panties and making her moan softly. She could feel Nicole’s lips curl into a smile against her skin as she kissed her hips and over her stomach to her breasts. 

Waverly was about to complain when Nicole covered Waverly’s nipple with her mouth without preamble. She gasped and tightened her hold on Nicole’s hair, wetness practically gushing between her thighs as Nicole’s tongue rolled over the stiff flesh. Nicole’s teeth lightly bit down on her sensitive nipple and Waverly’s hips jerked forward, almost falling off the edge of the bed. Strong hands rested high on Waverly’s thighs, thumbs sweeping along the soft flesh of Waverly’s inner thighs and occasionally brushing the fabric on the front of her panties. 

After a few moments, Nicole’s mouth switched breasts, lavishing the other nipple with the same attention and leaving her other nipple shiny with her spit in the cold air of the room.

Waverly’s chest was practically heaving, mind hazy with arousal as Nicole kissed the hollow between her breasts and back up to her lips.

“Waves,” she breathed as she hooked her fingers into the flimsy waistband of Waverly’s panties, “can I taste you?”

A groan ripped from Waverly’s chest and she nodded so vigorously she might be embarrassed if she didn’t need Nicole so badly. Nicole smirked that infuriating,sexy as hell smirk against Waverly’s lips before she pressed her hand to Waverly’s chest and pushed her back gently on the bed. Nicole’s long torso was bent partially over Waverly’s as her back hit the mattress. She sucked a dark bloom on the underside of Waverly’s breast and moved her kisses down her stomach. 

Waverly felt like all her gears were grinding together. Every nerve in her body rubbed uncomfortably together, looking for some form of relief. Relief that was so close and getting closer with each moment that Nicole’s lips traveled lower and lower down her belly. Waverly lifted her hips eagerly when Nicole started to pull her panties down her legs.

The cool air of the room met her overheated center and she felt herself clench around nothing at the sensation. Being so completely bare in front of Nicole was...nerve wracking to say the least. But she could feel the desire in Nicole’s hands, hot and firm against her legs as they spread her thighs apart. She felt Nicole’s breath directly on her center and her hands twisted into the sheets beneath her.

“Nicky,” Waverly panted, getting wetter by the second. “I need you. Please.”

Nicole moaned and she felt her nose nuzzle the soft crease between her thighs and center. “Waves, you’re so-...how did I get so lucky?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the lucky one right now,” Waverly managed before Nicole licked a broad, unexpected stripe up her sex. Her hips jumped and one of Nicole’s arms crossed low on her hips in an attempt to keep her in place.

Nicole’s tongue was hot and soft against her folds, gently exploring, tasting...but never fully diving in like Waverly craved. She tried to remain patient, breathing harshly through her nose as she felt Nicole suck ever so gently on her lips. Her tongue moved at an agonizing pace, always stopping just short of where Waverly wanted - no - _needed_ her.

A whine was building up in the back of her throat but she settled for cupping the back of Nicole’s head with her hand instead. It wasn’t pushing or demanding, just there gently encouraging Nicole to dive deeper.

Finally a pointed tongue probed at her entrance and Waverly’s entire body felt like it was set on fire. Nicole’s tongue swept up and _finally_ brushed over her clit, sending a bone melting heat through her veins. Waverly’s back bowed a little off the bed, hips stuck firm beneath Nicole’s arm. Nicole’s tongue started a slow, nonsensical pattern over her swollen clit and Waverly’s body only craved more.

“Fuck.”

The curse passed her lips in a whisper. She felt and heard Nicole moan against her as her tongue pressed a little more firmly against her clit. Waverly felt the tightness in her spine and pulling on her lower stomach like a string tightening a knot. Nicole’s mouth started to do wonderful things to her and Waverly saw stars popping behind her eyelids. She lifted herself up on her elbows for a moment and groaned just at the sight of Nicole’s head bobbing between her legs, dark eyes staring up at her.

Waverly’s head tipped back between her shoulders as her hips struggled against Nicole’s arm, trying to move to the rhythm of Nicole’s tongue. The knot in her stomach got tighter and tighter, small sounds falling from her lips without being able to help it. 

The tingling started in her scalp and ran like electricity down her spine. There was a snap in her hips and her back bowed, breasts rising towards the ceiling as the wave of her orgasm crashed over her body. She moaned loudly, hand flying to the back of Nicole’s head to keep her in place as she rode Nicole’s face through her orgasm. 

Nicole licked broadly along her swollen sex as she came down from her high. She felt herself twitch at the gentle stimulation and she hummed, gently tugging on Nicole’s hair to pull her away. 

When Nicole pulled away, she gasped for breath and Waverly could see the shiny evidence of her orgasm over Nicole’s chin. It was one of the hottest things Waverly had ever seen. Nicole licked her lips, eyes predatory as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She got up off her knees and crawled onto the bed over Waverly. She pushed herself back until her head was nestled in the pillows just as Nicole leaned down and captured her lips. 

Waverly moaned at the taste of herself on Nicole’s lips, hands skirting up her pale back and undoing the clasp of her bra unceremoniously. The straps fell down Nicole’s arms and Waverly practically ripped it off to lean forward and take a pink nipple into her mouth. 

Nicole’s thigh slid between her legs and Waverly could feel how hot and slick she was even through her underwear. For her. It made Waverly dizzy with desire. Her hands reached down, slipped beneath Nicole’s boy shorts and cupped her ass. She pulled Nicole’s hips roughly into her own, tired of patience. 

Waverly needed Nicole. She’d had her mouth but now she needed to feel her. To see what made Nicole moan and shiver and lose control. She wanted to watch her hips move the way they did on that bull. Waverly was proud, but not too proud to avoid admitting that she had thought about Nicole riding that bull. A lot. And how she might look astride Waverly. 

She pushed at Nicole’s boy shorts and Nicole pulled away long enough to awkwardly push them down her legs with her foot until they went flying to some unknown location off the bed. Nicole moved to slot herself between Waverly’s legs again, but she shook her head and palmed at her sharp hip bones.

“Up here,” Waverly said, pulling on Nicole’s hips until she was straddling Waverly’s. Nicole’s long, slender fingers curled around Waverly’s ribs as she looked down at her. Waverly just took in the sight on top of her. Smooth creamy skin, all spread out and on display for her. Small freckles dotting her body like constellations and pretty pink nipples stiff in the bedroom air, darker from arousal. Nicole’s throat bobbed, mouth slightly open and eyes dark as she looked down at Waverly, hair a mess from Waverly’s fingers.

“You’re so...amazing,” Waverly said reverently, her hands smoothing over Nicole’s toned stomach and over her breasts. 

Nicole was all lean muscle and soft skin and Waverly wanted to claim all of it. She tweaked perfect nipples between her fingers and Nicole groaned, chest pushing forward into Waverly’s hands as her eyes fluttered shut.

Nicole began a slow grind down into Waverly, spreading her arousal over her lower stomach. She could feel how hot, wet and silky she was and knew she needed to feel her. The arousal between her own legs had started again and she knew it would only be a matter of time until she got to feel Nicole’s fingers splitting her apart and bringing her to pleasure. Waverly shivered at the thought but knew if she didn’t feel Nicole soon she might go mad.

One hand stayed on Nicole’s breast, feeling its weight in her palm and playing with her nipples to see what made Nicole moan. The other slid down and slipped between Nicole and her own stomach. She cupped Nicole, feeling how hot she was in her hand as her middle finger stroked her swollen folds in awe.

Waverly couldn’t stop watching Nicole’s face as her dark brows furrowed in pleasure, jaw coming unhinged.

“Fuck, Waves,” Nicole panted, her hips moving and seeking out pleasure from Waverly’s hand. “You feel amazing.”

Waverly hummed and let her finger slip past Nicole’s entrance, only to the first knuckle. She was met with no resistance; Nicole was already so wet and open for her. She felt Nicole’s body clench around her, practically begging Waverly to slip further into her. Waverly removed her finger and Nicole groaned in frustration.

“Baby,” she begged, hips grinding down harder into Waverly’s hand. She let her fingers explore Nicole’s wet center for a moment before moving up and circling her clit with two fingers. Nicole’s body bent forward over Waverly, mouth blindly seeking her lips. Waverly strained her neck up, capturing Nicole’s lips with her own. It was all teeth and tongue, pure need tumbling from their lips as they tried to show how much they wanted each other.

Nicole pulled a little roughly on Waverly’s bottom lip and she hissed as the pain dissolved to pleasure, her body on edge once again. Waverly’s fingers rubbed tighter circles around Nicole’s clit, her hips grinding down into them as little pants fell from her lips.

Waverly loved the way Nicole was moving over her, but it wasn’t what she wanted. What she had been fantasizing about for weeks. Her fingers left Nicole’s clit and she groaned into Waverly’s mouth. 

“Waves,” she groaned, their foreheads together, until Waverly’s fingers circled her entrance. Slow and teasing. Nicole gasped, ready for whatever was next. Waverly slipped two fingers into Nicole agonizingly slow. She watched Nicole’s face melt into one of absolute pleasure, a long moan crawling out of her throat and into the air around them.

The angle was a little weird with Waverly’s hand trapped between their bodies, but she couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. Nicole was hot and tight around her and she was already addicted. She pushed her hips up a couple of times, pushing herself further into Nicole as the other woman’s hands scrambled for purchase and found it on Waverly’s upper arms. 

Waverly leaned up and pecked her lips over and over, trailing kisses as far as she could down Nicole’s jaw. Her free hand held Nicole’s hip as they found their pace, slow and easy despite the wild fire burning between them and threatening to burn everything to the ground. Waverly curled her fingers every time she pulled out of Nicole, watching how the red head shuddered each time the pads of her fingers pressed into her just right.

“Nicky,” Waverly said, voice thick and deep with arousal. “Ride me.” Nicole moaned and Waverly stopped moving her hand up into her, stilling it instead. “I want to see you.”

Nicole nodded and sat up from her position, bent over Waverly’s body. Her hands rested instead on Waverly’s hips as she began to move. Waverly couldn’t look away from how Nicole’s hips rolled to find the right angle until she raised herself up, Waverly’s wet fingers barely visible between them before she slammed back down onto them.

Waverly moaned at the sight and looked back up at Nicole who was unashamedly taking her pleasure from Waverly’s hand. It was hands down the sexiest thing she had seen since she’d watched Nicole ride that bull into submission.

Waverly made sure the heel of her hand pressed up into Nicole with each downward thrust, small little mewls of pleasure leaving her lips each time. Waverly’s hand was flooded with Nicole’s come, slipping between them and she began to use her hips to push up into Nicole in timing with her own movements. Nicole’s pace quickened, body flush from exertion and arousal as she bounced on Waverly’s fingers. She could feel the woman above her clenching around her fingers, walls fluttering sporadically and she could tell she was close.

Nicole’s moans got louder, broken little cries tumbling from her lips and thighs shaking on either side of Waverly’s hips. Waverly surged forward as she doubled her pace, abs burning. She leaned up, gripped the hairs at the back of Nicole’s head tightly and pulled her down so that she could kiss her as she felt Nicole’s walls collapse around her.

Nicole moaned into Waverly’s mouth, a small cry of “Waves” mingled in with the rest. Her come flooded Waverly’s palm and spilled over onto her stomach. Absently, Waverly thought what it might be like to taste Nicole but the way she sucked her tongue into her mouth chased the thought away for now.

“Fuck,” she panted against Waverly’s lips as she started to come to, “Fuck, Waves.”

Her body shuddered and collapsed forward onto Waverly, both of their chests heaving. Waverly smirked and brushed some hair out of Nicole’s face so she could kiss her cheek. She slowly pulled out of Nicole and wiped her hand on her stomach as Nicole turned her head to kiss her.

“You’re amazing,” Waverly said as they kissed. Their tongues met and Waverly groaned, the pounding between her thighs becoming apparent once more. She clenched her thighs together, looking for some relief as they kissed. “I’ve never felt anything as amazing.”

Nicole seemed to sense her arousal though because she pulled back with a small smile, eyes searching Waverly’s face. “Oh, darlin’, that was just the warm up round,” Nicole drawled as she slipped between Waverly’s thighs, held the back of her knee and draped it over her waist. Waverly smiled back, hips tilting up into Nicole as she ground their hips together.

Waverly moaned, fingernails digging into Nicole’s back as she pulled her own lip between her teeth.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” Waverly groaned.

Nicole smiled wolfishly, eyes mischievous as she leaned down to kiss Waverly again. “And what a beautiful way to go it’ll be.”

***  
Waverly woke up with an easy smile on her face. Her body was warm and sated and she felt Nicole molded against her back, arm tight around her middle. She could feel Nicole’s breath tickling her neck, nose pressed against the sensitive skin on the back of her neck. Waverly was sure she was in heaven. She didn’t want to move yet, she just wanted to stay cuddled in Nicole’s arms for as long as possible. 

Last night felt like a dream. Waverly might have actually been able to convince herself it was if not for the pleasant soreness in her limbs and the tangy taste of Nicole lingering on her lips. A smile curled on Waverly’s lips as she remembered and she pressed her face into the pillow as a blush came over her cheeks. 

Nicole shifted a little bit behind her and Waverly took the opportunity to turn in her arms. She adjusted under Nicole’s arm, heavy with sleep and tangled their legs together. Pressing her face into Nicole’s neck, Waverly smiled and settled back into a comfortable position. She could hear Nicole’s breathing, even and heavy, and knew she was still sleeping. This was fine by Waverly. It meant she could just enjoy breathing her in. The light scent of vanilla dipped donuts that always made Waverly want to lean in closer.

Her heart practically vibrated in her chest, smile still on her face as it hit her. She was here, in bed, with Nicole. Who she definitely probably most likely absolutely was in love with.

Waverly wanted to live in that moment forever. 

She also wanted to sneak out of bed, brush her teeth and sneak back into bed to pretend that she woke up minty fresh.

In the back of her mind she thought about the show and all the guys sleeping in the house waiting for her to pick one of them. That was a whole mess of issues she didn’t want to deal with while she was pressed naked against the most beautiful woman in the world. 

Waverly ran her fingers over Nicole’s collarbone, pressing a little on the freckles that dotted her ivory skin. She had spent last night tracking each freckle and dip of Nicole’s skin with her lips but she couldn’t wait to do it again. Just the thought made Waverly clench her thighs together a little as she peppered Nicole’s collarbone with kisses instead.

Nicole stirred and Waverly let her kisses get a little firmer, hand palming at Nicole’s hip. She got a little braver and bit lightly at the soft skin where Nicole’s shoulder met her neck. She felt Nicole’s breathing hitch and smiled against her skin, feeling Nicole’s hands come to life and smooth over her back. Waverly bit down a little harder, sucking a slightly red mark onto the pale skin.

“Mornin’, darlin’,” Nicole husked, voice thick from sleep.

Waverly released the skin with a pop and kissed the underside of Nicole’s jaw. “Morning, baby.”

Nicole sighed and tipped her head down to kiss Waverly lightly. She smiled into the kiss and swung her leg over Nicole’s hip to get as close to her as possible. Waverly gasped a little when her still heated center pressed against Nicole’s hip and deepened the kiss. Morning breath be damned.

“Did last night really happen?” Nicole whispered against Waverly’s lips.

Waverly felt doubt clench at her heart for a moment and she whispered back. “Do you want it to have happened?”

“More than anything,” Nicole said, one hand cupping Waverly’s cheek and her thumb brushing over her cheekbone. “It just felt like a dream. A wonderful wonderful dream.”

“A sexy dream,” Waverly smirked as all doubt fell away.

Nicole chuckled as Waverly turned her head just to kiss Nicole’s wrist. “A very sexy dream.”

Waverly ran her hand up Nicole’s side, palm skimming over the side of her breast until it settled behind Nicole’s neck. “Maybe we should...recreate a couple of things,” Waverly said lowly. “You know…to jog your memory.”

Nicole’s smirk and the way her eyes darkened sent a pool of arousal straight between Waverly’s legs and she bit on her bottom lip. Nicole nodded, eyes darting down to Waverly’s lips in an almost predatory way as she pushed Waverly onto her back and settled over her. It should have been embarrassing how quickly Waverly’s legs opened so Nicole could slot between them, but all she could think about was how Nicole’s body felt so right over her own.

Nicole’s face got serious and she nodded. “That would probably be for the best, Ms. Earp. For science.”

A smile broke out over Waverly’s face and she draped her arms around Nicole’s neck. “For science.”

The smile that spread over Nicole’s face sent a shiver down Waverly’s spine and heat directly between her thighs. Nicole tipped her head down and connected their lips in a bruising kiss, one hand pulling Waverly’s leg up and tight around her waist as she pressed down into her. Waverly sighed and ran her hands through Nicole’s hair, gripping it by the roots and making Nicole moan into her mouth.

There came a barely audible knock at the barn door, but the sound gave Waverly pause. Dread settled in her stomach and she hoped she wasn’t psychic. The knocking came again, a bit louder this time. Nicole started to pull away and Waverly’s fingers tightened in her hair.

“Ignore it,” Waverly whispered as she lifted herself off the bed to kiss her again. Nicole relaxed into the kiss again until the knocking started more frantically.

“I need to see who it is,” Nicole whispered as she tried to pull away again. Waverly clung off of her until Nicole was almost completely suspending her off the bed. Nicole laughed and pecked Waverly’s lips. “You’re like a spider monkey.”

Waverly wrinkled her nose a little. “I don’t want to be a spider monkey.”

“Why? They’re cute?”

“They’re not sexy.”

“Um, Waves, I don’t think any animal should be...sexy...necessarily.”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “You have to admit some animals are sexier than others. Like...I’d rather be something cool and sexy. Like a panther or something.”

“You’re more of a koala,” Nicole teased, kissing Waverly over and over. “Cute and cuddly.”

Waverly scoffed but the knocking started again. Nicole kissed Waverly one last time before she carefully extracted herself from Waverly’s grip. Waverly pouted up at her as she settled back into the bed, sheet pooling around her hips. She watched Nicole’s eyes dart over her form and smiled at how her eyes darkened still.

“Don’t you dare get out of bed,” Nicole breathed as she leaned down to kiss Waverly again.

“Waverly! I know you’re in there!” Chrissy’s voice came, muffled from behind the door despite her yelling.

Waverly’s blood ran cold and the two stared at each other for a moment before Nicole spoke again.

“Actually...maybe you should get up.”

“Yeah,” Waverly said sitting up in the bed as Nicole went to her drawer. She looked around her bed for her clothes, but all she had were her ruined panties from the night before. She couldn’t put her sequined dress back on at whatever time in the morning it was. Not only was it probably still wet, but that was one way to make it abundantly clear what they had been doing the night before.

She looked back at Nicole just as she passed Waverly some sleep shorts and a soft t-shirt. “Here, put this on,” Nicole said as she slipped her tank top over her head, sweatpants low on her hips. Waverly sighed at missing Nicole standing there in all her nude glory but figured another chance might come soon. If Chrissy didn’t rip her a new one, anyways.

Chrissy.

Waverly cursed under her breath as she slipped on the borrowed clothes. Her hands shook a little as she ran a hand through her hair in a vain attempt to tame it. She was sure there were marks on her body from Nicole’s mouth, she just hoped they weren’t visible. She didn’t have time to look in the mirror as Nicole started down the stairs.

She stayed close behind and felt sicker the closer to the door they got. Chrissy stood behind there and she was probably pissed. At best.

Every nerve in Waverly’s body was telling her to turn around and walk away. She gripped Nicole’s wrist before she opened the door and pulled her around to kiss her soundly. Nicole looked a little shocked by it, but something passed over her face for a moment and Waverly knew. This was...something was about to go very wrong.

It was the same sense of dread that filled your body for unknown reasons and when you least expect it. Already it felt like an eternity since she had been in bed with Nicole over her. Kissing her.

Nicole turned back around and pushed open the barn door just enough so that she was visible, Waverly hidden behind her.

“Hey,” Nicole said almost breezily.

“Where’s Waverly?” Chrissy said, an edge to her voice.

“What makes you think I know where she is?” Nicole said, not unkindly.

Chrissy scoffed. “I can smell the sex on you, Haught.”

She watched as Nicole’s spine stiffened ever so slightly and put her hand on Nicole’s lower back, gently pushing her a little to the side as Waverly slipped in front of her. Chrissy didn’t look even the least surprised that Waverly was standing there in front of her in pajamas.

“H-hey, Chrissy,” Waverly said with a small smile, trying to play off the situation.

It took a second for Chrissy to comprehend what she was seeing and when she did she paled. “Jesus H _Christ_ , Waverly.”

“Chrissy,” Waverly started, stomach clenching, “let me explain.”

Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and Waverly leaned a little further out of the barn to see a cameraman standing just off to the side, almost out of view. Waverly cursed under her breath and pulled herself back in, eyes angry as she spoke to Chrissy.

“You brought the _cameras_ here?” Waverly hissed. 

She felt Nicole stiffen behind her and Chrissy shook her head. “I had no choice!”

“Fuck,” Nicole said behind Waverly. She stepped back and Waverly missed her presence entirely. “You brought cameras, Waverly?”

“I didn’t bring cameras,” Waverly said, turning to look at Nicole. The look of betrayal on Nicole’s face squeezed Waverly’s heart and she shook her head. “Chrissy did.”

“The one thing I asked-”

Chrissy started again and Waverly turned her attention to her. “Waves, how could you do this? To the show? To me? After what we talked about last night.”

Waverly crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Is this really the time to talk about this?”

“Yes! It is!” Chrissy said, arms flailing at her sides in anger. “We told you to either stop seeing Nicole or to get her to agree to be on the show! Not to go _fuck_ her.”

Waverly could practically hear Nicole’s heart breaking behind her as she turned back to her, but quickly wished she hadn’t. Nicole’s face was ashen, almost grey, as she looked between Waverly and Chrissy. Waverly’s mouth was dry, tongue thick as she searched for the words. But the only thing that came to mind was:

_I fucked up. Oh god, I fucked up. I’m so sorry._

“Nicole,” Waverly started,” I-...”

Her voice trailed off when she realized she had nothing to say.

_I fucked up._

“You-...you knew that they-...they knew about us?” Nicole said, voice cracking. “You knew all this and you didn’t tell me?”

“Nicole, I-...was handling it. I was going to _fix_ it,” Waverly said, voice tilting up hopefully at the end of her sentence as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. 

Nicole shook her head, throat bobbing as she tried to control her tears. “You knew. You knew you couldn’t be with me but you still-...” She licked her lips anxiously. “Were you going to force me to be on the show?”

“It wasn’t any of that,” Waverly said, even if she knew she was fighting a losing battle. She knew that Nicole was right. Waverly had done this, had led Nicole on when she knew everything was about to get a lot more complicated. She had been selfish- _fuck_ she had been so selfish. She could feel Nicole slipping away like sand between her fingers with each moment of silence that stretched between them. Desperation clawed at her throat, reaching up and opening her mouth before she could stop it.

“Nicole, I love you,” Waverly whispered. She watched as the emotions passed over Nicole’s face. The mild elation immediately followed by anger, her brow furrowing.

“Waverly, you can’t just-” Nicole ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Not like this! You can’t just-!”

“Nicole-”

“No!” she answered, a firm shake of her head. “No, Waverly. I can’t-...Just...please leave. I don’t want to see you.”

Waverly felt her heart shatter into a million pieces, trickling down her ribs like rain and settling in her stomach with a sharp pain that made her want to be sick. Her instinct was to reach out for Nicole, to grab on to whatever piece of her that she could and hold on for dear life. It felt like Waverly had just found the whole world and now she was about to lose it.

“Nicole, please,” Waverly said again, not caring how pathetic she sound as tears blurred her vision.

Nicole shook her head then shrugged. “At least now you won’t have to worry about me in your little contract negotiation.” 

With that, Nicole turned around and walked back up the stairs. Waverly’s throat was tight and she wanted to yell out to Nicole, but she knew she physically couldn’t as she watched the red head retreat. Waverly looked back at Chrissy who looked almost as shell shocked as she was. 

“Waves-”

“Can’t I just get one moment of peace!” Waverly yelled, suddenly too aware of the camera watching her. She stormed out of the barn, still barefoot as she left Chrissy and the cameraman behind her.

Her entire chest felt tight like it was going to crack open at any moment and let all the broken pieces of her heart fall out onto the ground. The first sob racked her body painfully, but she kept her back straight and shoulders high. She wasn’t going to give the camera the satisfaction of seeing her break. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of anything anymore.

***

Waverly wasn’t sure how long she stayed holed up in her room. It could have been weeks and she would have believed it. Time seemed to stretch into nothing. It was like she had fallen into a helpless void of life without Nicole. Maybe it was a bit dramatic to think that, but she couldn’t help but feel helpless. 

She had cried as many tears as her body would allow.

There was a soft knock on her door and hope lit in her chest for a brief moment before she heard Chrissy speak. 

“Waves?” she said softly. “Can I come in?”

Waverly squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head before remembering that Chrissy couldn’t see her. “No.”

“Waves-”

“No, Chrissy,” Waverly said, voice raw and broken from crying. “Go away.”

She was going to let herself be angry with Chrissy. Waverly knew that she wasn’t blameless, but Chrissy had a part in this too. She could have given Waverly a chance to talk to Nicole on her own. And she certainly could have left the camera behind.

“Waverly-”

“No.”

There was silence for another moment before Waverly heard Chrissy’s footsteps walking away. Waverly lay there again, trying to silence her stormy thoughts. All she could see was Nicole’s face, the look of anger and betrayal. She squeezed her eyes so tightly shut that color popped behind her eyelids, but nothing erased the image. 

She imagined Lucado and Chrissy harassing Nicole. Banging on her door and insisting that she sign a contract. Like two lions grabbing their prey and refusing to let go. That was Waverly’s fault, no one else's. Nicole wanted nothing to do with the show and now-...they were trying to force her hand.

Waverly might not be able to fix things with Nicole, but she could certainly fix that. With a new determination taking over the sadness for now, Waverly got out of the bed and slipped on some tennis shoes, not bothering to tie the laces before she stormed out of her room. 

Jeremy apparently had been waiting outside of her room because she heard him scrambling for his radio behind her as she walked.

“Base camp, the sparrow has left the nest. I repeat, the sparrow has left the nest,” he said quietly but not as subtly as he probably thought. Waverly made a note to ask him why her code name was ‘sparrow’ later. She heard him following along behind her and walked a little faster until she was outside and into one of the golf carts that the production team used to get around the ranch quickly. Before Jeremy could stop her, she turned it on, starting towards the base camp she knew was hidden a good mile away from the house.

It was where all the production trucks were and where Lucado spent most of her time. Waverly had only been there once to grab some call sheets on the way to another part of the ranch. She slammed on the brake in front of the main production trailer, jerking herself forward a little in the seat.

Waverly got out of the golf cart and stomped up to the trailer, still in Nicole’s borrowed shorts and shirt, and opened the door.

“Lucado!” she said, her eyes landing on the blonde woman who was sitting behind a computer screen with a pair of headphones on. She looked up at Waverly with just the barest hint of surprise on her face and she pulled her headphones off her head.

“Can I help you, Miss Earp?” Lucado said cooly.

“I’ll pick one of the guys,” Waverly said, her voice only barely wavering even if she was shaking like a leaf. “I’ll pick one of the guys to marry if you just leave Nicole out of this.”

Lucado sat a little straighter in her chair, arms folded in front of her chest as she looked at Waverly. She squirmed under the older woman’s gaze but didn’t break the stare down they had gotten themselves into.

“So let me get this straight,” Lucaso said. “If we leave Nicole out of the show, don’t use any footage with her...you’ll marry one of the guys?”

Waverly felt her stomach twist but she held her ground. “I’ll get engaged to one of them. Marriage isn’t specifically built into the contract,” Waverly pointed out. 

“Fine, you’ll go through with the show and get engaged?”

“Yes.”

Lucado stared at her for a moment before giving her a curt nod. “Okay. Deal. You carry on with the show and stop seeing Miss Haught and we’ll leave her alone.”

“Deal,” Waverly said, forcing a small smile despite the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. With that, Waverly turned on her heel and headed towards the door of the trailer.

Lucado said behind her, “Miss Nedley, can you drive Waverly back to the house, please?” 

Her head jerked around and she saw Chrissy sitting at another computer, eyes on Waverly. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms tightly in front of her chest. Of course Chrissy was here to witness her crawling back on her knees. This was mostly Chrissy’s fault anyways. She’d convinced her this stupid show was a good idea.

Although...maybe it was a good idea if it brought her to Nicole. Either way, Waverly was still mad at Chrissy for bringing cameras to Nicole’s knowing they would catch her in a compromising position. Almost literally.

“Sure,” Chrissy said as she stood up.

“I can drive myself,” Waverly insisted to Lucado, who was already putting on her headphones and returning to whatever she was watching on the computer.

“Of course you can, Miss Earp, but your contract asks that you don’t. For legal reasons.”

Waverly scoffed as she turned to walk back out of the trailer. “Fuck the contract.”

She got into the golf cart and let her hands fidget in her lap as Chrissy got into the driver’s side. They drove in silence for a few moments before Chrissy spoke up.

“Waves-”

“Don’t _Waves_ me,” Waverly said, eyes darting over to her friend for a moment. “You were a real shit ticket about all of this.”

“I know,” Chrissy admitted, voice strained. “I’m so so sorry. I didn’t see this happening this way _at all_.”

“What did you expect? Lucado to wish Nicole and I well in our future together?” Waverly asked, voice high.

Chrissy ground, shoulders rolling in as she hunched over the wheel with a groan. “I don’t know! I don’t know what I was thinking, Waverly. I was scared I was going to lose my career and I got selfish. Really selfish.”

“You could say that, again,” Waverly said with a heavy sigh.

“Hey, you were selfish too,” Chrissy started. Waverly’s head whipped to look at her friend, an incredulous look on her face.

“What?”

“Yeah! You went and flirted with the hot ranch owner when you knew what you were getting into with the show. You _knew_ the point was to pick a guy at the end. You should have stayed away from her,” Chrissy argued.

“I couldn’t,” Waverly said with a shake of her head. Some of the anger in Waverly’s chest melted and just mounted to an odd mess of emotions she couldn’t describe. When she was talking about Nicole, she couldn’t be mad. The sadness still took hold of her bones and shook them, making them ache. “There was some sort of...connection-. A _pull_ with her. I don’t think I could have stayed away from her if I wanted to, Chrissy.”

There was silence in the cart for a moment before Waverly continued.

“She just-...sees me, Chrissy,” Waverly said with a shake of her head, “Do you know how hard that is to find?”

Chrissy shrugged and said softly. “Um...yeah, I do.”

“I think I...no,” Waverly took a deep breath. “I love her.”

Chrissy nearly swerved the cart into a ditch. “You...love her?”

“I do.”

“Well, shit,” Chrissy cursed. “I really fucked this up.”

Waverly felt her anger practically disappear at her friend’s realization. “I did too,” Waverly said as she slumped in her seat. “I really really fucked it up.”

“Maybe there’s something we can do?” Chrissy said.

Waverly shook her head. “I feel like I fucked this one up for good, Chris.”

Chrissy put her arm around Waverly’s shoulder, driving with one hand. She leaned over into Chrissy’s arms and let the tears flow down her cheeks.

***

_Coming up on The Bachelorette Canada!_

_We’re coming down to the final two weeks-_

Cut to Waverly’s interview where she’s beaming. “We’re down to the final three and I’m really excited! I can’t wait to take the boys home to see my sister and my hometown.”

There’s a quick montage. A shot of the ‘Welcome to Purgatory’ sign, a shot of people enjoying a drink in Shorty’s, a shot of Wynonna holding a cabbage on the Homestead.

“I think this week will be very telling,” Waverly says seriously. “I think it’ll really separate the guys between who is ready to get married and be my husband and who isn’t. It’s all felt kinda fun but now is when it’s really...it’s getting real.”

We cut to a shot of Wynonna standing on the porch with Waverly. She shakes her head and looks at her little sister. “I just...feel like he’s not the one.”

“What makes you say that?” Waverly asks.

“All these years of cabbage farming have left me with a special kind of wisdom,” Wynonna says a little dramatically. Waverly looks annoyed.

We cut to Champ’s interview. “Parents always love me,” he says confidently. “I mean, what’s not to like?”

Perry’s interview is next. “I love Waverly. And I’m confident she’s going to pick me to be her husband. If she doesn’t I-...don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll be devastated.”

The background music gets louder, more dramatic as it cuts quickly between Waverly, Champ, Perry and B-train. It lands on a shot of Waverly sitting on the porch rail with Wynonna. She’s crying and Wynonna pulls her into her chest. 

“I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” Waverly sniffles, voice muffled in Wynonna’s shirt.

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 is now posted on my[ Patreon. I'm just saying. It's THE chapter.](https://www.patreon.com/bootsncatz)
> 
> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	10. My Cold Cold Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...do you like happy shit? Is that a thing people enjoy around here? Guess we'll see.
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_Last week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

Waverly stands in front of two roses. All three remaining guys stand in front of her. Champ looks cocky, Perry appears stoic and B-train looks nervous.

We cut to B-train’s interview, he has tears in his eyes. “I just...I’m not ready for our journey to be over, you know? She’s such a cool dude and I’m a cool dude and we could be really happy together.”

Cut back to B-train twitching nervously from his spot. Waverly picks up one of the roses, she looks down on it before looking back up dramatically.

“The first rose, goes to…”

We see quick cuts of all the guys before she smiles.

“B-train.”

B-train whispers, “Yes.” He practically bounces over to Waverly, wide smile on his face as she pins the rose on his jacket. “Thank you.”

Waverly smiles back at him and cups his cheek briefly. “Thank you.”

B-train gets back in the line and Waverly looks down at the final rose in her hand. We cut between Perry and Champ. The music builds dramatically, the cutting getting faster. Finally Waverly looks up, tears in her eyes as she says:

“Champ.”

Perry hangs his head and Champ pats him on the back in mock sympathy before he goes up to Waverly. She pins the rose on his lapel and he winks at her.

Cut to Champ’s interview where he says. “I’m not surprised. We had an amazing time in the Fantasy Suite. You can’t just ignore that kind of connection. You know?”

Perry’s interview is much sadder. He stares off, away from the camera as tears gather in his eyes. “I just...thought we had a connection. I thought she could be the one.” He wipes his eyes as he sniffled. “It just hurts that...she didn’t feel what I feel.”

We’re back at the rose ceremony where Waverly is hugging Perry goodbye. There are whispered things between them that the camera can’t really pick up, but both of them are teary eyed as they pull away. Waverly smiles sadly as Perry walks away.

_Then, tonight, on the action packed season finale of The Bachelorette Canada!_

_The guys go to Waverly’s hometown and meet her family._

There’s a shot of Waverly running up to the Homestead, Wynonna coming out of the house and the two sisters collide in a hug. Happy laughter fills the air and Wynonna pulls back to kiss Waverly’s forehead.

“I missed you, baby girl.”

“I missed you too.”

Cut to Champ sitting across from Wynonna at the kitchen table. Wynonna just stares at him as a sound bite plays over the footage.

“I don’t know,” she says, “he just reminds me of one of the tools I’ve run into while-...cabbage farming.”

We cut to Champ’s interview. He’s smiling and looking happy. “I’m feeling really confident. Wynonna obviously loves me. I’m in love with Waverly, she’s in love with me...it’s no question. I’m getting that rose.”

The camera cuts to B-train sporting a dopey grin. “We have chemistry!” It shows shots of B-train and Waverly walking hand and hand through Purgatory. “We really have a connection. She met my family and I met hers and we’re just a good fit. I feel it.”

_Then, Waverly will give out the final rose._

There’s a dramatic shot of Waverly from the back, looking out a window as the sun sets. She’s wearing a silvery white gown with a slit all the way up the side and high heels. Her hair is done up in a bun, neck and back exposed. She looks out at the sunset, face serious.

“I have never felt more overwhelmed.” Her voice talks over shots of her walking around the ranch, looking introspective. “I love Champ because he’s handsome, funny...attentive...and I love B-train because he’s so sweet and his family is amazing. I can tell he would click with my family.”

Waverly sighs and we see her in her interview. She looks tired, but still beautiful. She shakes her head, conflict visible on her face. “I think taking them both home to meet Wynonna has really informed my decision.”

The camera cuts to Champ and B-train standing out on the porch of the house. The sun is setting behind them and it all looks very dramatic. Their hands are clasped in front of them and they look nervous.

“I mean, I’m choosing my spouse tonight,” Waverly says over a shot of her walking up and standing in front of them, a single rose in her hand. “I’m so terrified I’m going to make the wrong choice.”

The music swells as the camera cuts between shots of them all looking apprehensive.

_This week on the finale of The Bachelorette Canada!_

***

Waverly read back over the letter for the thousandth time. 

_Dear Nicole-_

She skimmed the rest and nodded, satisfied. She slipped it into the envelope and sealed it before she could change her mind. There was a knock at her bedroom door and she walked over. She opened it to reveal Jeremy standing there with his usual clipboard and headset.

“Hey, Waverly,” he said with a smile, “the car’s here. You ready to go?”

Waverly couldn’t help but sigh in relief. She was so relieved to be going back home. Finally. It had felt like months. Being isolated from her family and friends made the time stretch on even longer. Although...the moments she had spent with Nicole really did make the time lovely. Every moment. Every touch.

Her heart ached at the thought of Nicole. It had been almost a week since everything blew up and it wasn’t getting any easier. She missed Nicole. _God_ she missed Nicole. More than air. The heaviness in her chest had only just begun to lift, making it slightly easier to breath. Most of her nights were spent curled in her sheets and crying. Waverly had to force herself not to wear Nicole’s sweatshirt every day. To just let herself be wrapped up in Nicole’s comforting scent.

She shook herself from her thoughts just long enough to remember Jeremy was standing in front of her. “Um, yes,” she said looking back at the overnight bag she had packed. She turned back to Jeremy and held up the envelope, small smile on her face. “Mind doing me a quick errand after I leave?”

Jeremy just nodded enthusiastically.

***

Waverly hugged Wynonna, not wanting to let go. She smelled like leather, whiskey, and gunpowder and Waverly missed her so much. She hadn’t realized how much until she was hugging her. The warm leather of Wynonna’s jacket enveloped her and she felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

“I missed you, baby girl,” Wynonna said, voice vibrating in her chest.

“I missed you too,” Waverly muttered into her sister’s shirt.

The prickling on the back of Waverly’s neck let her know the cameras were on them. Not that she should be surprised, they were always on her. Especially after everything with Nicole. It was like Lucado had hired five extra cameramen to follow her around. Waverly pulled back and Wynonna planted a firm kiss on her forehead. She smiled and looked up at her sister.

“Now why don’t you tell me all about these guys you’re banging?” Wynonna said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Waverly’s cheeks tinted and she pushed Wynonna lightly. “Wy! I’m not-” her eyes darted ever so subtly to the side, checking to make sure the cameras were still there in her peripherals. “I have some sensibilities.”

Wynonna caught her look, her own eyes moving over her shoulder to look at the cameras before giving Waverly a subtle nod. 

“Are you okay?” Wynonna whispered, just low enough for Waverly to hear. 

Waverly felt the floodgates opening, throat tight with emotion as tears burned the corners of her eyes. She sniffled and shook her head subtly. 

“I’m not okay,” Waverly whispered. “I’m…”

She bit her bottom lip and held back what she wanted to say. Everything about Nicole and how she fucked everything up. Wynonna squinted at her.

“Should I tell these people to piss off?” she muttered. Waverly just shook her head and Wynonna nodded again.

“Let’s go inside,” Wynonna said a little louder, putting her arm around Waverly’s shoulders and steering her inside. Waverly melted into Wynonna’s embrace, thankful that she could still read Waverly’s subtle signals. It used to drive Willa nuts when they were younger. Communicating with barely seen flickers of the eye. She winked at Waverly as the door to the Homestead closed behind them.

***

A few hours later when they were finally away from the cameras. Waverly was exhausted. To say the least. 

Today had been “Champ’s day” in Purgatory which meant she walked him all around the town and they ended the night at Shorty’s where Rosita was bartending. Wynonna had gotten drunk, per usual, but definitely played it up for the cameras. She was surprisingly comfortable in front of the camera, though Waverly was sure she shouldn’t be surprised. Wynonna did like messing with people and if that meant spouting off ridiculous facts about cabbage farming while drinking then so be it. 

Lucado seemed thrilled with all the soundbites they were getting from her. She was even more thrilled by the drama that Champ brought when they got a few drinks in him at Shorty’s. When he leaned over the bar and hit on Rosita Waverly could practically see Lucado salivating over the footage.

Waverly did her part, acting scandalized when Rosita told her later and talking to Champ tearfully about it afterwards.

But in the back of her mind, all she could think about was Nicole. She wondered if she’d read her letter yet. The letter in which she had poured her heart out,all while telling Nicole she was off the hook. She was fine and Waverly would make sure that she wasn’t shown on television. Ever. 

The tightness in Waverly’s chest still hadn’t dissipated since that day everything went wrong and she was just going through the paces now.

Waverly had convinced Lucado to let her stay at the Homestead in her own room as long as she didn’t watch television or go on the internet. As soon as the cameras were gone, Waverly threw herself face down on the couch with a groan.

“Having that good of a time, baby girl?” Wynonna said. She lifted up Waverly’s feet and slipped under them, setting herself down on the couch with Waverly’s feet in her lap. Waverly turned onto her back and looked over at Wynonna who smiled at her sympathetically.

“I’m so tired,” Waverly whispered.

Wynonna squeezed Waverly’s foot and leaned her head back against the couch. 

“Wanna...you know...talk about it?” Wynonna said with only the barest hint of a cringe which was well appreciated. 

Waverly smiled at her sister just as she felt her throat closing again. She looked at the television she wasn’t allowed to watch and saw the dark reflections of her and her sister in the glass. She shook her head and tried to swallow her grief. 

“I...fell in love,” Waverly muttered. 

Wynonna hit her leg and smiled. “Waves! That’s great! Isn’t that what you went on the show for?”

“Yes but...no,” Waverly sighed, tears already forming. “I fell in love with someone...not on the show.”

“Oh.”

“The woman who owns the ranch-“

“Oh shit.”

“And we had _amazing_ mind blowing sex-“

“Ugh, gross-“

“-and then I fudged it up. Royally.”

Wynonna smirked. “You’ve been on television too long, Waves, you can curse now.”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “Anyways. I...fell in love with her and now I’ve really screwed the pooch. I...didn’t mention to her that the show knew about us.” She frowned as the truth hit her painfully. “Well we weren’t actually…together. I guess. She hasn’t talked to me since.”

She looked over at Wynonna who had a sympathetic smile on her face. “This may be a dumb question but...have you tried to talk to her?”

Waverly pulled one of the decorative pillows to her chest and shook her head. Wynonna gave her a knowing look and Waverly quickly defended herself. “I left her a letter! Before I came home.”

Wynonna blinked at her. “A letter-? I’m sorry, Waves, is this the early nineteen hundreds or something? Did you send it via the Pony Express?”

Waverly groaned and pressed the pillow to her face with a long sigh. “I didn’t-...I wouldn’t have been able to take it if I went to see her and she rejected me,” Waverly admitted softly.

She felt a soft squeeze to her foot and went back to cradling the pillow. Wynonna was squinting at her, scrutinizing Waverly in a way that made her squirm.

“What’s her name?” Wynonna finally asked. 

“Nicole,” Waverly said with a sigh, “Nicole Haught.”

Wynonna blinked at her for a moment. “Her...last name is-?”

“Yep.”

“And she’s-”

“The hottest thing I’ve ever seen, yes.”

Wynonna practically cackled and Waverly rolled her eyes. “I’m going to give her so much shit for that name.”

Waverly threw the pillow at Wynonna’s face. “Don’t! If she’ll even…” Waverly groaned and put her hand over her face. “It doesn’t matter. I told her she was done with this mess. That I would leave her alone.”

“So?” Wynonna said with a shrug. “If she cares about you it shouldn’t matter.”

“Yeah but...she doesn’t want to be on camera. She said so herself,” Waverly said. “And if I don’t choose one of the guys, they’re going to make her life hell until she agrees to be on camera. I can’t do that to her.”

Wynonna squeezed Waverly’s foot again. “Baby girl, if this girl loves you back, I guarantee being on camera is a small price to pay.”

Waverly shook her head and ignored the twisting in her stomach. The feeling that she had been the one to mess this whole thing up. Not just her and Nicole, she could have messed up everything up for Chrissy too after she had worked so hard to get where she was. She felt the tears prickling at her eyes and sniffled softly. 

“Wynonna. I love her and I ruined it,” Waverly said just as the tears started to fall. Wynonna pat her lap and Waverly turned her body so she could lay her head in it. Her sister ran her hand through her hair and whispered comforting words that Waverly couldn’t quite make out over her own sobs. She couldn’t have Nicole, but she could at least relish in the comfort of home for now. 

***

Waverly forced a small smile as Champ tried to engage Gus in some kind of talk about beer. The idea for the day was basically that Champ and B-train would “learn how to run a bar” from Gus. They had all had dinner with them individually the night before. By dinner, of course, she meant they all sat around a table with food they had no intention of eating.

Gus kept shooting Waverly looks across the table each time one of the guys said something particularly dumb and Waverly had to keep her face as neutral as possible for the cameras. She was sure they were having a field day with all of Gus’ reactions. Waverly hadn’t been allowed to talk to Gus after the camera’s left and she was sure the woman would have enough to say when they had their “heart to heart” later.

Champ only managed to break one glass and B-train was actually super sweet through the whole situation. He listened intently to Gus and asked her questions about the bar and her family. Waverly sat on the other side of the bar in her Shorty’s uniform with a small smile. At one point he winked at her and she even let herself blush.

Later that day, Waverly was getting her makeup retouched as the cameras set up outside of the McCready house. She looked out the window of the makeup truck at the house and sighed wistfully. It was the house she grew up in after her family was gone and it was just her and Wynonna. Until it was just her. 

Waverly’s heart ached at the thought and thankfully the makeup person stepped away from her and Jeremy came to walk her to the makeshift set. Gus was already sitting on the porch, cup of tea cradled between her hands as another makeup person brushed blush onto her cheeks. 

Gus smiled at Waverly as she sat in the chair next to her, head still tilted up towards the makeup artist. “Is this what it’s like to be a movie star?”

Waverly chuckled and leaned back in her chair. “Pretty close.”

“Can’t say I care much for it,” Gus said with a wink as the makeup person walked away.

The cameras had already started rolling. They always did before they were expected to catch as many “candid” moments as possible. But Waverly desperately wanted to talk to her Aunt and if that meant having a heart to heart in front of the cameras, she was going to do it.

Waverly couldn’t help the break in her smile when Gus reached over and took Waverly’s hand in her own.

“Honey, are you happy?” Gus started, voice soft and motherly.

Waverly felt the tears pressing behind her eyes again and she forced her smile. “I...I’m just confused.” Waverly took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m being pulled in two different directions.”

She wished she could talk candidly. That she could tell Gus all about Nicole and how much she loved her. And how much she really screwed it up. This, now, was her penance. Going through the rest of the show and having to pick one of the guys. She had wondered how long she’d have to keep up the charade that she was in love with him before she could call it off.

She desperately wanted to tell Gus that the two things she was being pulled between were the show and the woman she had fallen in love with so quickly. But instead she was forced to keep doing what she had done for weeks. Pretend to be only about the guys.

Gus squeezed her hand with a small smile. “I talked to Wynonna this morning,” she said with a pointed look that made Waverly’s stomach drop. “Watching you grow up, I’ve always known one thing. You’re an extraordinary young woman, Waverly Earp, and anyone would be lucky to have you by their side.”

Waverly felt her throat tighten and she sniffled lightly, holding back her tears yet again. “I just...how do I know if I’m making the right choice?”

“Listen to your heart,” Gus said, “Your instincts. I know you got ‘em, Waverly. Your heart will tell you what it needs, you just have to listen to it and be brave.”

“What if I can’t be brave?” Waverly asked, cameras fading into the distance as her heart stuttered painfully at the realization. 

Gus shook her head, smile still in place. “Dear, you’ve been brave your whole life. There’s no reason to stop now.”

Waverly nodded and stood up, Gus standing up and pulling her into a tight hug. Waverly sniffled and took comfort from her Aunt’s arms around her as she let herself cry just a little bit. She didn’t know if she could change the outcome of anything. It felt too late.  
Gus kissed the side of Waverly’s head and whispered. “Listen, Waverly, no tv show is worth throwing true love away for. You hear me?”

“Yeah,” Waverly answered, voice cracking. “I know, Gus.”

“Good,” she said pulling away and holding Waverly at arm’s length. She winked at her and squeezed her biceps a little. “I know you’ll do the right thing.”

“I hope so,” Waverly whispered, mind already going a thousand miles a minute.

***

Waverly sighed as the sound guy took her mic off of her. Gus was standing and batting them away, insisting she could do it herself and didn’t need their grubby hands on her. Waverly chuckled as Chrissy came up to her and squeezed her shoulder to get her attention. She smiled up at her friend and put her hand over Chrissy’s.

“Hey,” Waverly said softly.

Chrissy squeezed her shoulder again. “I just wanted to say...thank you. For...going through with the show. It really means a lot to me.”

Waverly felt the broken pieces of her heart grate against each other, and her smile faltered. She was going through with the show at the detriment of her and Nicole. Ruining any chance of salvaging...whatever they had.

 _It’s for the greater good_ , she kept reminding herself. _The best for the...most people._

“You’re welcome,” Waverly said with the barest hint of a smile. “It’s...the least I could do.”

***

Waverly practically insisted that they let Wynonna ride to the airport with her. She didn’t think she would miss Wynonna this much, but seeing her again after so long was making it harder to leave. Wynonna, of course, teased her about it, but she didn’t put up a fight when Waverly asked her to go to the airport with her.

“Alright, baby girl,” Wynonna said playing with the buttons on the top of the limo just to see what they did. A small television screen started to unfold from the top and she watched it in awe as she talked. “What are you going to do about Haught?”

Suddenly Waverly found her hands the most interesting thing in the world. She had spent the whole night, tossing and turning and wondering what the next couple of days might look like. Even after Gus’ talk she was sure Nicole wasn’t an option.

“Maybe...after I fake a huge breakup with this guy...maybe then she’ll be-...I can ask her if she...wants to talk to me again,” Waverly said softly.

Wynonna frowned at her as she pushed the button that folded the tv back up. “I just...don’t get why you don’t march up to her as soon as you get back to that ranch,” she said as her hand fell from the ceiling and onto her lap. “Just go and jump her bones.”

“I can’t just-” Waverly blushed. “I can’t just go and _jump_ her. I’d ruin everything. The show-”

“Who gives a fuck about the show?”

“I do! And not-...it’s not just the show. It’s about Chrissy and all the other people whose job is depending on this show. Not to mention the fact that I would be sued up the ass. They’d take everything. They’d take the Homestead. Maybe even Shorty’s.”

Wynonna tugged on her sleeve. “Shit.”

“Yeah.”

“Listen, Waves,” Wynonna said leaning forward and resting her elbow on her knees. ”I want you to be happy. I want you to do what makes you happy, the consequences be damned. We’ll figure it out.”

Waverly shook her head. “You know I can’t do that,” Waverly whispered, tired of the tears constantly pressing against the back of her eyes. “I _won’t_ do that. To you or Gus.”

“You’re too good, Waves,” Wynonna said.

“Not good enough,” Waverly muttered as she let her forehead fall against the glass of the car window, Purgatory shrinking behind her. 

***

One plane ride and long car journey later, Waverly was finally pulling back onto the ranch. She couldn’t help the way her eyes wandered to the barn. And she definitely couldn’t help how her heart ached when she saw Nicole leave the barn and head to the side of it. Probably to chop wood or do something else equally as attractive.

It was still so tempting to just go over to the barn and talk to Nicole. She didn’t know what she would say. She’d probably just stare at Nicole and run away again. Just thinking of what she wanted to say to Nicole, all she was met with was a garbled mess. Lots of “I’m sorry’s” and “please forgive me”.

They pulled up to the front of the house, the entire yard fluttering with activity as they set up for the final rose ceremony in only a few hours. Waverly sighed. At least she only one more day to deal with all this. Then she could go back home or wherever they wanted to sequester her away to until the season aired. She didn’t even care at this point as long as she was away from the constant cameras.

Waverly got out of the car and Jeremy materialized in front of her. He smiled and she forced her own small smile. 

“Hey, Jeremy,” Waverly said as she closed the car door behind her, duffle over her shoulder.

“Hey. How was home?” he asked as he escorted her to her room. He noticed her bag and reached for it. “Oh! Let me get that.”

“Oh, Jeremy, it’s fine,” Waverly said, watching as Jeremy struggled to lift it onto his shoulder.

“Nah, I got it,” he gasped as he finally got the strap over himself. “Anyways. Home. How was it?”

“It was good,” she said as she tugged on the edge of her shirt briefly. “Did um...did the letter get delivered?”

“Oh! Yes,” Jeremy said with an excited nod. “All delivered.”

Waverly looked at him, waiting for more of a response that never came. “Did she um...say anything?”

“Nope. Just took it and went back to her little cave,” Jeremy said with a small chuckle.

“Cave?”

“Yeah- well...she was all disheveled looking and the barn was pretty dark. Like she had been hiding in a cave,” Jeremy said. “It’s more of a figure of speech I guess…”

Waverly looked towards the barn, even if she was in the house and couldn’t see it. Nicole had been upset...she wondered if she still was. If there was still that aching in her chest like Waverly felt. Or if she even had felt that at all. Maybe Nicole was still mad about Waverly’s misplaced declaration of love. She shifted uncomfortably at the memory, pulling her hair over her shoulder and playing with the ends.

“Well...thank you, Jeremy,” Waverly said as she got to her room. “What time is hair and makeup coming? Do you know?”

Jeremy looked down at his clipboard briefly. “Mm...you have about a half hour.”

Waverly took the duffle back from him and put it back over her shoulder with ease. “Great,” she said with as little sarcasm as she could. “I’ll just...take a shower I guess. Wash the plane off of me.”

“And I’ll be here!” Jeremy said cheerfully from his usual post just outside her door. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Jeremy,” Waverly said as she closed the door. She dropped her duffle bag to the ground and stopped as she slowly walked over to the shower, hoping the hot water would wash these feelings off of her.

***

The twisting in Waverly’s stomach hadn’t ended from the moment she got out of the shower and sat in the makeup chair. Her eyes kept finding the nearest clock, counting down the minutes until she’d be choosing her fiance for the next...however many months until she could safely break up with him.

If she had to choose a guy, there was no doubt in her mind she would be choosing B-train. He was dumb and a pure jock, but Champ was getting increasingly more annoying as time went on while B-train was...sweet. She regretted getting rid of Perry instead of Champ, but at least it made this choice easier.

Waverly breathed in as they straightened her hair, hands fidgeting on the arm rest as she watched them work in the mirror. Her nerves made her palms sweaty, sickness riding up in her throat as she thought about what was about to happen. It wasn’t kissing B-train. It was the lying. The tricking. The lying about herself.

 _For the greater good,_ something she kept telling herself in hopes it would make her feel better. All it did was make her feel sicker.

The makeup person put the finishing touches on her, touching up her lipstick and blush one last time. They smiled at Waverly and Waverly forced a smile back as she stood from the makeup chair. She looked at herself in the mirror. They had dressed her in a long white gown with intricate beading on the front, a cheap callback to a wedding dress she was never going to wear. She smoothed her hand down the front and the makeup person came up behind her, nudging her lightly.

“You look beautiful, don’t be nervous,” they said with a wink before walking out the door. 

Waverly was alone again and prayed she could stay that way. But not even a second passed before there was another knock at the door.

“Come in,” she said just loud enough for the other person to hear.

Lucado and Chrissy came into the room, both looking far too happy. Waverly didn’t think she’d ever seen Lucado smile so much in her life.

“Alright,” she said looking Waverly over. “You look lovely, as always. The camera will love you. So, what we’re doing is simple. You’re going to have your interview first, talk about stuff there. Then we’ll set you up and you’ll choose one of the guys. Got it?”

Waverly nodded, nervously running a hand through her fixed hair. Chrissy gave her a look and Waverly just smiled stiffly. 

“Nervous?” Chrissy asked.

Waverly scoffed. “No, I’m just about to choose the boy Canada thinks I’m going to marry.”

“And you’ll make a ton of money, and we’ll make a ton of money, and then in a few months you’ll break up with him. Easy as pie,” Lucado said with a single nod. “Jeremy!”

The PA practically burst through the door, eyes wide.

“Escort Ms. Earp to the set please,” Lucado said as she walked out of the room, Chrissy close behind. “And make sure she doesn’t get...lost.”

Lucado gave Waverly a sickly smile that made Waverly want to lunge at her. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and looked over at Jeremy who seemed torn.

“Are...you okay?” he asked.

“As good as I’m gonna be,” Waverly muttered.

Jeremy took a step closer to her, voice low like he was afraid of getting caught. “You sure?” he asked. “This is kind of a...major life decision here-”

“I’m aware,” Waverly snapped before instantly regretting it. “Sorry. I...am very aware. But my hands are tied I...have to go through with it.”

Jeremy hesitated. “Is it...Nicole?” Waverly looked up at him and he smiled knowingly before he continued. “I may seem oblivious, but I’m not.” 

Waverly let out a long breath and shut her eyes for a moment. “Yeah...it’s Nicole. I really let things go to balls with her and now-...well this is my only choice.”

Jeremy looked up at her for a moment like he was holding something back and Waverly frowned at him. “What?”

“Nothing!” Jeremy said, voice high as he shook his head. “I um…” he paused, clearly listening to something in his headset. “-we should go.”

“Okay,” Waverly said taking one last look in the mirror before following Jeremy out to where everything was set up for her interview. Mark was already there, getting the final touches on his makeup as she sat in the chair across from him. He beamed at her and she tried to smile back.

The makeup person stepped back from him and the cameras started to roll. He straightened out his tie and cleared his throat before winking at her.

“Ready?” 

“Yeah.”

Mark put on his host voice and began. “So, Waverly, tonight you pick your Prince Charming. How are you feeling?”

Waverly smiled. “Nervous as hell.”

Mark laughed. “That’s understandable. Do you have any regrets from this season?”

“Well,” Waverly sighed, already knowing the answer. Yes. Of course she did. She regretted everything that led to where she was now. Just short of regretting the show in general. “I...do. I have a few regrets,” she continued with a deep breath. She could feel Lucado stiffen behind the monitors. “I acted selfishly, and it hurt people in the process.” Waverly felt her throat tighten, voice breaking. “I thought I was doing the right thing for love but...I didn’t consider everything and I just...wish I could take some things back. You know?”

Mark frowned, nodding sympathetically. “Are you talking about letting certain guys go?”

Waverly thought about Nicole’s face when she said she loved her, when she saw the cameras. The betrayal in her eyes...it broke Waverly’s heart at the memory. “I’m talking about...handling the way I let some people go,” she said, carefully choosing her words. “I think...I said things that people weren’t ready for. I said them in desperation in...selfishness. And I think that’s ultimately what drove us apart. I can’t go back and change things but...I’m going to try and make things right. Some day.”

Mark nodded again. “So then, are you ready? Do you know who you’re going to pick?”

“This...is the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life,” Waverly said, voice cracking as she wiped away a tear. “But I think I’m ready.”

With a smile, Mark nodded. “Good luck tonight. You ready to go out there?”

“I am,” Waverly breathed, hands shaky. “I’m ready.”

The cameras switched off and Waverly couldn’t even wipe away her own tears before the makeup person was blotting the tears from her face and reapplying her makeup. She smiled in thanks before they disappeared again, to wait for her to look less than perfect so they could sweep in. 

Jeremy came up to her, his hands flexing and tapping on his trusty clipboard nervously. “Ready?”

Waverly nodded and stood up. He led her outside, past all the crew moving around them and making last minute adjustments. There were sparkling lights all in the trees, flowers everywhere and it was lit just so that the whole back of the house looked like a fairy tale. She swallowed the lump in her throat, begging the tears not to fall as she got to her mark in the middle of a half circle of flowers. The flowers behind her, there were two light setups across from her were where she knew the two guys would be standing.

She licked her lips before remembering the lipstick and took a deep breath. This was it. She wondered again, how long it would be before she could call things off. Or if she would be able to convince the guy she chose to stay as far away from her as possible until she could break up with him. Mostly, she wondered if Nicole would talk to her after all this was over.

Nicole, probably hidden away in her barn right now. Definitely not wondering what Waverly was doing. She was probably cursing her name. Waverly wished and hoped that Nicole would talk to her after this was all over, after her contractual obligations were over.

Maybe Nicole wouldn’t want to be with her anymore but...at least she could have her in her life. Waverly would take that over having to forget Nicole all together.

“Waverly.”

Her eyes darted to Jeremy who’d been standing in front of her for who knew how long before she noticed.

“Hm?”

He fidgeted nervously before reaching into his coat pocket and taking out a small envelope. She could make out her name in a messy scrawl on the front and her heart froze.

“Nicole gave this to me,” he said handing it to her. “She told me to make sure you got it and nobody saw me give it to you.”

“You’re just now giving this to me?” Waverly squeaked.

Jeremy flinched as she tore the envelope from his hand. “I’m sorry! Lucado is so scary, she’s always watching.”

Waverly looked around quickly before ripping open the envelope with shaking hands. A small folded piece of paper fell out and Waverly opened it, heart in her throat as her eyes scanned over the words.

_Where you go, I go._

Waverly read it ten more times before a small smile started to bloom. But the nerves in her stomach reached up and took her smile away, anxiety settling in her chest. Did Nicole...what did Nicole want? To go to her? To leave the show to-...Waverly didn’t know what.

“Alright places everyone!”

Waverly didn’t know who shouted it, but it made her blood run cold. She could see beyond the gate to the ranch, the limo that was holding Champ and B-train. In a manner of moments, they would be here, expecting an answer from her. The car moved steadily forward and she took the note and stuffed it in the front of her dress. Jeremy blushed and looked away quickly with a small scream, but Waverly was too busy thinking to notice.

Did Nicole… _want_ her again? Didn’t Nicole know the consequences of Waverly running away right now? Nicole would have to agree to be on camera.

“Places! Cameras roll!”

“Rolling!”

“Cue limos!”

Waverly’s eyes snapped back up to the slowly approaching limos. She hadn’t noticed everyone in their places, cameras on her as the car approached. She must have just looked nervous which she supposed worked great for the show, but really the note was burning against her skin.

The limo pulled up. Champ and B-train got out, both in tuxedos. Champ’s was a normal black one but B-train’s had his favorite hockey team emblazoned across the inside and barely visible on the labels of the jacket. 

Waverly felt sick.

She had to choose. She _had_ to choose.

 _Balls_.

B-train. Poor sweet B-train who was dumber than a rock but so attentive.

Champ. A man-child with a sense of entitlement and teeth that were far too bright.

The choice was simple.

Mark came up to her, serious look on his face as he nodded. “Alright, Waverly...are you ready?”

Waverly couldn’t breathe. Suddenly the dress seemed too tight and the lights too bright. The soft sound of the cameras rolling and lights buzzing was too loud. She felt like everything was closing in on her, like she was about to be crushed. Waverly swallowed thickly, panic rising in her chest. 

She was sure the note was burning her skin at this point.

“I-...I don’t feel well,” she whispered to Mark, a hint of realization in her own voice. “I’m going to be sick. I have to-...”

She looked back at the guys, B-train looking concerned while Champ looked like his mind was somewhere else.

“I’m sorry.”

She quickly pushed past Mark and the cameras, just needing some space to breath. Her lungs were tight, head light as she walked past the monitors. Chrissy quickly followed her, arm around Waverly’s waist as she led her around to the side of the house where no crew was. Waverly was close to hyperventilating, she could feel it tightening around her lungs and squeezing them. Chrissy went behind Waverly, turning off her mic pack before facing her friend again.

“Breathe, Waves,” Chrissy said, rubbing her arms soothingly.

Waverly nodded, tears sparkling on her eyelashes as she took a shaky breath. She hiccuped as she breathed in, but managed to take a whole breath before she breathed back out. Chrissy looked at her sympathetically, hands still on Waverly’s arms.

She tried to find comfort in her friend’s touch, letting out a shuddery breath as she tried to focus.

“Are you okay?” Chrissy asked.

The question broke the dam and Waverly let out a sob. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold in all her sadness and doubts but they came tumbling out anyways. Chrissy’s arms were around her in an instant as she whispered soothing things in her ear. Waverly let her shoulders shake as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I-...don’t think I can do this,” Waverly said against Chrissy’s shirt.

“So...don’t,” Chrissy said softly. 

Waverly pulled back with a frown, heart fluttering with hope even if she didn’t want it to. “What?”

Chrissy smiled and shrugged. “I want you to be happy, Waves.”

“But...the show. Your _job_ -”

“Do you love Nicole?” Chrissy asked, eyebrow raised.

“More than anything,” Waverly answered easily.

Chrissy shrugged again. “Then it’s easy. Forget these guys, forget the show.”

Waverly could hardly believe her ears. It felt like she was in some kind of wind tunnel. Information and sounds pushed past her at a rate she couldn’t quite match, making it hard to comprehend what was happening.

“I can’t just...forget the show,” Waverly said with a frown when her brain caught up. “You-...Lucado-...I’m not going to force Nicole to be on camera and I can’t be _sued_.”

Chrissy bit her lip and scrunched her nose. It was her thinking face that Waverly recognized from their years of study groups together. Something passed by her eyes and she nodded. 

“Waverly, Nicole loves you too,” she whispered. “I can tell. I’m kinda psychic, remember?”

Waverly managed a small laugh. “Just because you predicted the results of a football game _one_ time-”

“I can tell that she loves you,” Chrissy said, shaking Waverly a little bit. “And you love her. True love conquers all. Remember?”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “This is real life, not a fairy tale.”

Chrissy frowned. “Reality tv broke you, Waves.”

Waverly groaned and rested her head on her friend’s shoulder as tears continued to leak down her face. The makeup person would have a heart attack if they could see her now. She took a deep breath and just tried to...think. She tried to remember what it was like to be in Nicole’s arms. To kiss her. To love her.

“Waves, it’s your choice,” Chrissy said, squeezing her tight. “But don’t worry about me. Okay? I’ll figure it out. You’ve spent your whole life trying to please other people. Maybe it’s...time you do something for yourself.”

Waverly pulled away and wiped some tears from her cheek. Chrissy was right. And the idea of living without Nicole...of not even _trying_...that killed her more than anything.

“I don’t...even know what to do I-” Waverly paused, gears clicking in her brain. A slow smile crawled over her features and suddenly the note tucked into her dress felt that much heavier. “I ...know what to do... can you just-...tell Nicole I’m waiting for her. She’ll know where I am.”

Chrissy squealed and pulled Waverly into a hug, squeezing her tight. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Don’t be happy yet, we don’t know what she’s going to say,” Waverly said with a watery chuckle. “Oh and...do you have a pocket knife I can borrow?”

***

_This week on The Bachelorette Canada!_

_It’s the heart wrenching season finale-_

Waverly is pacing on the balcony in her white dress. We cut to her on camera interview. “This is the hardest decision of my life.”

Cut to a small montage of Waverly’s happy moments with Champ and B-train.

We then see a close up of Waverly as the limo pulls up. Panic apparent on her face. Dramatic music plays. We see the tears starting in her eyes and she just shakes her head.

“I’m sorry,” she says before walking off camera. It cuts to close ups of Champ and B-train, standing there confused. We see a long shot of Waverly walking away, the camera shaky.

_This week on the exciting season finale of the Bachelorette Canada!_

***

Waverly was sitting on the edge of the cliff watching the stream below her when she heard hooves approaching. Her heart leapt into her throat and she quickly stood up, smoothing her dress with her hand. When she saw Whiskey’s face just barely peeking over the ridge, a rider astride her, white Stetson standing out among the background, Waverly felt her breath catch.

What if this was a mistake? What if she misread Nicole’s letter?

But seeing Nicole look at her as she approached, Waverly felt the warm twisting in her stomach that wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Some of the ache in her heart got deeper from the closeness to Nicole and she just wanted to touch her. But she clasped her hands together and fiddled with the pocket knife in her hand. 

Waverly managed to pull her eyes away from Nicole to look at the tree next to her. All the initials carved into it, scarring the bark and discoloring it.

She turned back to Nicole just as she got off the horse. They looked at each other for a moment and Nicole tipped her hat at Waverly. She swooned, stomach feeling sick as Nicole walked closer slowly, thumbs hooked into the loops of her jeans.

“Waverly,” Nicole breathed. 

It felt like something kick started Waverly’s heart, kicking up the dust that had settled there since her blow up with Nicole.

“Nicole,” Waverly said, a small watery laugh filling the silence between them. 

Nicole stood in front of her, the tips of their shoes almost touching as they just looked at each other. There were bags under Nicole’s eyes and Waverly wanted to reach up and touch her cheek but dug her nails into her own palm instead.

“I got your letter,” Nicole said, her voice rough, grating along Waverly’s spine in a delicious way.

“I got yours,” Waverly said with a small smile that faded just as soon as it was there. 

All the words she wanted to say felt like they were dying on the tip of her tongue with Nicole there in front of her. The speech she had rehearsed in her mind while waiting for her just disappeared like smoke. Waverly licked her lips and looked down at her hands before taking a deep breath, gathering her courage. 

Suddenly she looked up and spoke. “Nicole, I just-”

“Waverly, I-”

They talked at the same time, both stopping abruptly. Nervous smiles lit up their lips and Waverly whispered. “Can I start?”

Nicole tilted her head like she was thinking but finally just nodded gently. 

Waverly took another deep breath and tucked some hair behind her ear. “I just want to apologize...first. I...should have told you about Lucado finding out about us. I shouldn’t have...jumped you.” Waverly blushed deeply and looked away. “I don’t regret...the results. But I regret the circumstances surrounding it.”

She flashed back to that night and shifted, blushing impossibly deep as she chanced a glance up at Nicole who had a blush on her own cheeks.

“And I just-” 

Waverly took a deep breath as she continued. “I’ve never felt about...anyone, the way I feel about you. I went into this whole thing thinking the show was...a scam. I thought it was impossible to fall in love with someone in six weeks but...here we are.”

She let out a soft laugh, tears in her eyes as she looked up at Nicole.

“I love you,” Waverly said softly. “I shouldn’t have-...I don’t want those words to be diminished because I said them at an awful time-”

“Waverly,” Nicole said softly, reaching forward and pushing some of Waverly’s hair behind her ear. She leaned into the touch, her body warming at the feeling. “I love you too.”

“You do?” Waverly breathed, her heart taking flight in her chest.

Nicole nodded. “I was...too shocked to say it before-”

“I understand,” Waverly said. “It was shit timing-”

Nicole shook her head and framed Waverly’s face with her hands, cutting off her words. Waverly couldn’t help but smile. Feeling Nicole’s strong, gentle, and calloused hands against her skin again made Waverly weak in the knees.

“What I wanted to say was...that I’m sorry I freaked out,” Nicole said. “I was just so shocked and trying to process things but... I’ll be on the show, Waverly.”

Waverly looked up at her, shocked. “But-”

Nicole shook her head. “I’ll be on the show. I don’t care. I’ll...I’ll do a dance or say stupid shit. I don’t care as long as I get to be with you.”

Waverly was sure her heart exploded with happiness in that moment.

“Nicole,” Waverly started, “This experience...was so great. I got to do so many things I’d never done before, and it was amazing. But my one...major regret...is that I didn’t get to do any of those things with you. I don’t want to miss out on any more adventures with you. Even if it’s just sitting on the couch eating pudding in our pajamas.”

Nicole chuckled and pressed their foreheads together, tears shining on her eyelashes. “That sounds like everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“Can I kiss you?” Waverly whispered, eyes darting down to Nicole’s lips. Nicole didn’t answer, choosing instead to lean forward and connect their lips.

It felt like taking her first breath after nearly drowning. Waverly was sure a kiss had never felt as amazing as this one. Her skin erupted in goosebumps and she poured every ounce of emotion that she could into the kiss. Her heart soared and it was over too soon, even if her starving lungs burned thankfully.

She kept her eyes shut, just living in the moment and breathing Nicole in.

“I love you,” Waverly said, eyes fluttering open.

“I love you too, Waverly,” Nicole said, brushing their noses together. Waverly licked her lips nervously and held up the closed pocket knife between them. Nicole pulled away for a moment just to look down on it before looking back up at Waverly with an amused smile. 

“Are you threatening me?” Nicole teased.

Waverly rolled her eyes and slapped her hand to Nicole’s chest lightly. Her fingers curled into the soft fabric of Nicole’s flannel, fingers twisting in the fabric.

“No,” she whispered. “I just thought…maybe if you...you’re _it_ for me, Nicole. I want you to be my everything, forever and always. And I would be honored if...we could put our initials on the tree.”

Nicole smiled so brightly that Waverly was sure she went blind for a moment. She kissed Waverly hard, all the air leaving her lungs as her free hand tangled in the short hairs beneath Nicole’s hat.

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Nicole said, pecking Waverly’s lips over and over until they were both giggling like fools. Nicole plucked the knife from Waverly’s fingers and pulled her closer to the tree. Waverly faced it, Nicole holding her from behind with her face pressed into Waverly’s shoulder. She kissed along the skin there until Waverly giggled.

“You’re distracting me.”

“Sorry,” Nicole whispered, placing a lingering kiss just below Waverly’s ear that made her sigh. “You just look so beautiful.”

Waverly leaned back and tilted her head to kiss the underside of Nicole’s jaw as she looked at the tree trunk.

“Okay,” Waverly said, trying to focus. “Where should we do it?”

Nicole pointed at a spot right next to her grandparents and handed Waverly the knife. “My grandpa and grandma got married after their first date and were in love until the day they died,” Nicole whispered. “I know we’ll be like them.”

Waverly felt her stomach flip at the sentiment. “I wish I could’ve met them.”

“Me too, baby,” Nicole said, kissing her cheek. “Now put your name there.”

Waverly nodded, lifting the knife and carefully carving the ‘W’ into it. She held the knife in her palm and Nicole took it from her, leaning forward a little bit to add ‘+ N’.

“It’s perfect,” Nicole whispered, using Waverly’s hips to turn her around so they were facing each other again. “You’re perfect.”

Waverly blushed and shook her head. “ _We’re_ perfect.”

Nicole smiled and pressed Waverly lightly against the tree, one hand next to her head and the other gripping her hip. 

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over saying ‘I love you’,” Nicole said as Waverly brushed her fingers along the brim of her hat.

“Neither will I,” Waverly admitted as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Marry me,” Nicole whispered suddenly. 

Waverly’s heart stopped. “What?”

“Marry me, Waverly Earp,” Nicole said, “make me the happiest person alive.”

“Of course,” Waverly said, fresh tears springing to her eyes as she smiled. “There’s nothing I want more.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Their lips molded together again, Waverly weaving her hands through red hair and she was sure, in that moment, she had never been happier.

***

_Next week on The Bachelorette Canada: The Final Rose!_

Mark is sitting in a plush looking chair, all the guys from day one and beyond sitting up behind him in their own chairs. 

“This week, we’ll be talking to the guys of _The Bachelorette Canada_ about their time in the house. About love, loss, and jealousy. And later, we’ll be bringing out our own Bachelorette Waverly and talking about how she found her one true love.” Mark smiles brightly, face aglow with a new spray tan. “This is going to be an episode you won’t want to miss of _The Final Rose!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


	11. After the Final Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you like sad shit? If so, turn back. Because this chapter is full of fluff and happiness and maybe a little NSFW action.
> 
> As always, special shout out to [theGayNerd](https://twitter.com/iamthegaynerd) and [LuckyWantsToKnow](https://twitter.com/moxiepurzell) for being my awesome betas.

_Tonight on After the Final Rose!_

The camera cuts to Mark standing on a stage, live audience clapping and yelling off camera. Behind him is a huge television screen that reads _The Bachelorette Canada_ with Waverly in a sparkly dress and grinning at the camera. 

“Hello, Canada,” he begins with his arms open wide, a bright, toothy grin on his face. “This season of _The Bachelorette_ was a rollercoaster, to say the least. We had love, loss, and a secret romance that surprised everyone, even Waverly. Let’s take a look.”

A cheesy sparkle effect crosses the screen and we’re thrown into a video package. 

_This season on The Bachelorette Canada!_

The camera cuts to a shot of the Welcome to Purgatory sign followed by a shot of Waverly in Shorty’s with her uniform on, holding a tray of beers and smiling at the camera over a voiceover.

“My name is Waverly and I’m your Bachelorette this season!” 

We then go to shots of the ranch and Waverly walking along the grounds. She leans on a fence wearing a long, sparkly blue gown that looks ridiculously out of place as she stares off at the horizon.

“I just really can’t wait to open up and meet someone I really connect with.” The camera cuts to Waverly sitting in an interview as she continues talking. “I’m just excited to start the rest of my life.”

Cut to shots of the ranch and house in a landscape montage. We then cut to Waverly standing in front of the house on the first night as the limos start pulling in. We see Waverly smile as the first limo opens and Champ gets out. His teeth practically reflect the lights as he beams and twirls the lasso over his head. He throws it and it lands around Waverly as he pulls her in.

“Hi, my name is Champ,” he says and Waverly looks like she swoons a little. The audience audibly sighs and cheers. “I’m hoping to rope your heart tonight.”

We then see B-train skate up to the house in a jersey with her face on it. The audience cheers again. He stops quickly in front of her and opens up his arms so she can better see her picture on the jersey.

“Hey, Waverly, my name is B-train,” he says.

Waverly giggles. “What is that short for? What’s your real name?”

“Um, my real name is actually Gary,” he says with a blush. “But I prefer B-train. It was a name they gave me when I played high school hockey.”

“B-train it is then,” she says with a nod. He steps forward and gives her a hug. The audience coos.

We see a quick montage of the other notable guys from the season. Perry, Chad and a few others. The camera then cuts to the cocktail party with all the guys. We see some guys flexing. Champ is challenging another guy to do pull ups. 

There’s a shaky shot from far away where we see Waverly talking to Jeremy. In the microphone we hear her say. “Jeremy, I’m going to use the restroom really quickly.”

We cut to footage of Waverly walking out of the room and down the hall, clearly from some sort of surveillance camera. She looks at an open door down the hall and walks through it. The camera cuts to one inside the room where we see Nicole sitting on the floor. She throws the Ikea booklet over her shoulder in frustration just as Waverly walks in, hitting her in the face.

“O’ ma’ go’, I’m so ‘orry!” Nicole says, turning to face Waverly. 

Waverly smiles wider than with any of the guys.

“I’m fine, just startled,” she says softly. The sound is faint and hard to hear, but there are captions along the bottom.

Nicole holds out her hand for Waverly to shake as she sits down across from her. “I’m Nicole by the way. Nicole Haught.”

The audience cheers, lots of ‘aw’s as the camera lingers on a long shot of Nicole smiling.

Waverly takes her hand and shakes it. “I’m-”

“Waverly Earp,” Nicole says charmingly. The camera cuts to a shot of Waverly smiling and batting her eyes as Nicole speaks again. “You’re quite the popular girl around here.”

Mark’s voice over comes over the montage of romantic dates. _“This season, things took a surprising turn when love came from an unexpected suitor.”_

There is a montage of different scenes with Waverly and Nicole. Them talking by the barn, Waverly falling into the gopher hole, Nicole riding her horse with Waverly.

_“While the guys were romancing Waverly on group dates and romantic excursions, Nicole was romancing Waverly with horse rides and manual labor.”_

Another montage. This one we see Waverly at the batting cages with Champ, ice skating with B-train, at the gun range with Chad. We then see Nicole chopping wood, Waverly watching her with a dazed look on her face, mouth open slightly. 

Mark’s voice over starts again. _“As the summer heated up, the stakes got higher.”_

Cut to Waverly’s interview where she’s smiling and nodding. “Thank goodness for this warm weather we’ve been having lately.”

The audience laughs.

We then see a shot of Nicole shrugging off her plaid shirt and lifting the brim of her Stetson to wipe some sweat from her brow. The audience cheers like they’ve never seen an attractive person before. She looks up and across the field, squinting adorably against the sun.

It cuts to other shots of the guys taking their shirts off at the pool, exercising and swimming as Waverly sits on a lounge chair. We see the shot of Champ doing pushups with Waverly on his back.

There is a montage of the guys on the mechanical bull and getting thrown off. Then we see Waverly get on the bull and get thrown off. Nicole immediately jumps over the fake fence and kneels down next to Waverly. They look at each other dreamily while Nicole makes sure that Waverly is okay. 

The camera cuts to a shot of the guys looking on from the van, disgruntled.

_“Through all the firsts, ups and downs...romance was always around the corner.”_

Another quick montage of Waverly kissing some of the guys. Particularly lingering on B-train dipping Waverly on the karaoke stage. The camera then cuts to Nicole sitting in the back of the room, face blank as she looks away quickly.

Then we see Waverly and Nicole behind the karaoke set, dancing along to one of the producers singing. It cuts to shots of Waverly walking up to the barn, Nicole greeting her at the door and letting her in.

We see Nicole helping Waverly down from Daisy and the first kiss, cut together with cheesy romantic music. There’s also shots of Nicole going to Waverly’s room and leaving, a shot of them coming together in the rain and holding each other. There’s a shot of Nicole carrying Waverly bridal style towards the barn and the audience cheers again.

_”And it all came down to one intense series finale.”_

We cut to Champ at his last dinner with Waverly. He looks a little drunk and red in the face. 

“I just...I’m falling in love with you,” he sighs. “And...it’s really hard to see my girlfriend with all these other guys. You know?”

Waverly looks really confused. “I-...what do you mean?”

“I don’t like that you’re going on dates with Perry and B-train,” he says with a shrug.

“Champ,” Waverly says slowly. “I’m so glad you’re opening up to me. And I’m so thankful for it. But I-...I haven’t chosen someone yet. You know? I’m still trying to figure out what I want.”

“I just want to protect you,” Champ says putting his hand over Waverly’s. “And it’s hard to not be able to. Like...I don’t like that butchy redhead that’s always hanging around you.”

You can see the anger and confusion on Waverly’s face as she stands up quickly from the table. 

“I’m sorry I-...need a minute.”

The camera follows Waverly to the balcony until Chrissy tells them to go away.

Cut to Waverly’s interview where she’s crying, barely able to speak through her words. “I just...don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t want to hurt anybody,” she croaks. Tears are streaming down her face and her nose is red.

Then we see Waverly standing on the platform for the final rose ceremony, hands fiddling nervously in front of her. It cuts dramatically from the limos approaching to her face. Champ and B-train stand in front of her as she looks at them.

“The final rose-” Waverly pauses. “-goes to-...”

More dramatic music as it cuts between shots of the two guys and Waverly. Suddenly Waverly shakes her head.

“I-...I don’t feel well,” she whispers. “I’m going to be sick. I have to-...I’m sorry.”

The camera zooms to follow Waverly as she walks off of the set. 

_”History was made this season on The Bachelorette Canada.”_

Camera cuts to Waverly running out to the barn, her dress flowing beautifully behind her as the sun sets in the background. Nicole is chopping wood again in a tanktop and her Stetson, but somehow isn’t sweating at all.

“Nicole!”

Nicole turns around and notices Waverly so she sets the ax down. She smiles widely at Waverly as the shorter girl runs up to her. She leaps into Nicole’s arms and they kiss. The camera cuts to a perfect shot of them silhouetted in front of the sunset. Picture perfect. Waverly pulls away with a beaming smile on her face.

“I love you,” Waverly whispers. 

Nicole beams back at her. “I love you too.” She sets Waverly down and immediately gets down on one knee, she looks awkward and her eyes flicker over to the camera every few seconds. “Waverly.”

Waverly puts a hand to her chest, eyelashes sparkling with tears, reflecting the setting sun. 

“Will you marry me?” Nicole asks.

Waverly nods and the camera shows a close up of the ring. Waverly leans down and kisses Nicole over and over as the camera pulls back and we fade back into the main title card. The camera fades up to Mark standing in front of the live audience as they applaud and he smiles. 

“What a season. Am I right?”

The crowd yells again.

Mark gestures for them to settle down. “Alright, well let’s get our final two guys out here. Ladies and gentlemen, we have Champ and B-train!”

The crowd claps as they come out. Champ comes out first in a suit with his giant rodeo belt buckle sticking out like a sore thumb. He looks like he smelled something weird. B-train comes out behind him, waving and smiling at the crowd. They sit on a couch across from Mark and in front of the risers where the rest of the guys from the season sit.

“Hey, guys,” Mark says. “How have you been since the show?”

B-train answers first. “Well...I’ve been...you know, recovering. I’d be lying if I didn’t say my heart wasn’t broken after the finale but...I’ve been playing a lot of hockey so it could be worse.”

Champ shakes his head. “I’ve been bad, Mark.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I just...can’t believe we were betrayed that way. You know?”

There’s a mixed reaction from the audience as Mark frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I mean...it wasn’t fair, was it?” Champ complains. “I mean, here we are following the rules and getting only as much time with Waverly as the show lets us while this other...person just swoops in and spends as much time with her as they want. It’s not fair!”

“Couldn’t you say though...that the heart knows what it wants?” Mark asks with a dramatically furrowed brow.

Champ shrugs and shakes his head again. “I mean...I think in this case the heart had some help.”

The audience boos and B-train shakes his head.

“That’s not fair, Champ,” he starts, “Waverly didn’t _want_ to hurt anyone and you should know that.”

The audience cheers again and Champ is about to say something else when Mark cuts him off. “Alright, we have to take a break. But when we come back, we’re going to get Waverly and her sister Wynonna out here to talk to our final two guys. Coming up on _After the Final Rose!_ ”

***

Waverly tapped nervously on the arms of the makeup chair, the bright lights of the vanity hurting her eyes a little. It was a little weird to be back in the spotlight. She had done a couple of interviews since the season finished wrapping, but nothing as elaborate as getting her makeup done. The entire season was so under wraps that Lucado would only allow phone interviews and insisted upon being present for each one.

After Nicole proposed to Waverly at the tree, they had been inseparable. They had spent a few hours there just talking and...well maybe some other things. But to be fair, they knew no one would find them there so it wasn’t like it was public indecency. More like...slightly less private alone time. But when they managed to wander back to set, it looked like everything was on fire. 

Jeremy looked like he’d been through the ringer, leaves and grass stains clinging to him. Chrissy pretended to not have any idea where Waverly had gone and Lucado already had the contract lawyers on the phone. So when Nicole and Waverly told her that Nicole was willing to be on the show...she was a happy camper.

They had spent the next week filming “candid” moments between her and Nicole to supplement the footage they had gotten from the cameras around the property, even going as far as to fake the proposal. Nicole was uncomfortable the entire time and Waverly was sure most of the footage of her was unusable since she was stiff and staring at the camera. But Waverly would always manage to get her to loosen up a little bit. Small kisses and soft whisperings, little touches and promises of how they would unwind later were usually enough to get at least one good take out of Nicole.

But as soon as the filming was over, they separated them. Nicole was bound to the ranch, not allowed to leave the property or have visitors and Waverly was stuck on the Homestead in the same situation. They were allowed to talk on the phone, but that was it. They got exactly one weekend together and the show flew them to a beach far far away where they had a private bungalow and stretch of beach where no one could encroach and ruin the season that was still airing.

That weekend had been heaven. The private beach situation had been ideal for skinny dipping. But that’s all Waverly would say about that.

They watched the season together over the phone. Nicole would scoff every time Waverly went on a date or kissed one of the guys. Waverly would just blush and remind Nicole that it was all for show and that she was wearing Nicole’s ring.

Waverly was a little miffed that she was starting the first semester of her grad school program late since she wasn’t allowed out until after the season aired, but admittedly, she was glad that she was going to get some time to spend with Nicole before things got insane again.

She didn’t even want to think about the months she would be away from Nicole while she was at school. Nicole assured her that she could fly back to the ranch whenever she wanted to see her and that she would be hiring a new ranch hand and visiting as often as she could. The whole concept was foreign to Waverly. Being able to just...get up and fly on a plane whenever you wanted? One thing Waverly hadn’t considered about Nicole owning a successful ranch was that she had certain amounts of disposable income. Another foreign concept.

Something she was reminded of when she got the letter one day saying her student loans were all paid off as well as her first semester of grad school.

“They wouldn’t let me pay outright for all four years,” Nicole complained when Waverly called her about it. “So we’ll just have to pay that every year as you go.”

If they had been in person, Waverly would have jumped Nicole’s bones right then. Even after insisting a thousand times over that Nicole didn’t have to pay for anything for her, she still insisted.

Waverly looked down at it as the makeup person dusted some blush on her cheeks. It glinted in the light of the vanity and she smiled. Nicole’s grandmother’s ring, passed down to her before she passed. A ring Nicole admitted she could never bring herself to give Shae. Waverly’s stomach warmed just looking at it.

But it had been two months since Waverly had seen Nicole and she missed her. Desperately.

“Alright, sweetheart,” the makeup person said with a wink, “you’re all set.”

Waverly smiled at them through the mirror reflection. “Thank you. It’s kinda...weird being back here.”

“You look happy,” they observed. “I’m glad it all worked out.”

Waverly blushed and looked at the ring on her hand again. “Yeah...it really did.”

***

The audience cheers, Mark is still sitting across from Champ and B-train except there’s an extra chair next to them.

“Welcome back to _After the Final Rose!_ We have Champ and B-train here, our last two guys standing. And now we’re going to bring out Waverly’s sister, the cabbage farmer, Wynonna!”

Wynonna in her typical dress of jeans and her leather jacket walks out onto the stage, eyes wide as she takes in the crowd. She waves at them and forces a small smile as she walks down to the Mark and hugs him awkwardly. She sits in her seat just as the crowd calms down and Mark leans forward in his chair.

“So, Wynonna,” he begins, “honestly, I’m just curious. How did you become a cabbage farmer? Is it a family business?”

Wynonna grins widely, a mischievous glint in her eye.

“Well,” she says, “it all started when I was a little girl. I just loved cabbages so so much. They’re so...round and...green. And my Daddy said I could be anything I wanted to be and...I wanted to be a cabbage farmer.”

The crowd cheers oddly loud for her comment.

Mark laughs. “Well, I believe you brought something for the audience.”

“Oh, I did,” Wynonna says with a nod, “Everyone will be getting an Earp’s Cabbages t-shirt.”

Mark holds one up and it’s a simple black shirt with two cabbages on the front but they look remarkably a lot like boobs. Over the top it in a fancy script it says ‘Earp Cabbage Farm’. The audience cheers enthusiastically.

“Now back to the show,” Mark says, putting on his serious questions face, “Now that the show is over, is there anything you wanted to say and couldn’t? Something you haven’t said to the guys that you wanted to?”

A slow smile spreads over Wynonna’s face and she leans forward a little. “Well, Mark, thank you for asking.” She looks over at Champ who seems vaguely scared. “Hey there, Champ.”

“Hey,” he answers cautiously.

“What kinda name is Champ anyways?” Wynonna asks with a squint. “More like Chump. I saw what you said about my baby sister, you washed up rodeo clown. You’re lucky I wasn’t around to hear it live. And you-” Wynonna turns to B-train who is still smiling. “B-train? _B-train_? You’re lucky my sister didn’t pick you because I would never stop making fun of that name.”

B-train blinks at her dumbly and Champ just folds his arms like a petulant child.

The camera turns back to Mark whose smile has never faltered. “Alright, folks, are we ready to bring out our Bachelorette?”

The camera pans the audience. Some are wearing cowboy hats, some are holding signs reading different slogans such as ‘Marry Me Waverly!’, ‘I’ll Be Your Goalie B-train!’, ‘I’ll be your bull Nicole!’.

Champ, B-train and Wynonna are all moved to other seats near the risers with the rest of the guys as Mark stands in front of a set of glittery curtains.

“Alright, here she is, your Bachelorette...Waverly!”

The curtains part and Waverly walks out on the stage to massive applause. She’s wearing a short gold dress, hair in waves over her shoulders and she smiles at the crowd. She goes up to Mark and gives him a big hug before sitting across from him.

“So, Waverly,” Mark starts, “how have you been?”

Waverly takes a deep breath, unable to keep down her smile. “Happy.”

“You’ve been happy?”

“Yeah. Really happy,” she says with a small laugh as the rest of the audience cheers.

“I’m guessing it has to do with a certain redhead?” Mark asks.

Waverly shrugs, playing coy. “Maaaybeeeee.”

The crowd goes ‘aaaaw’ and we cut to a shot of Champ rolling his eyes, nursing a drink.

“Okay well before we get into that...let’s talk about your time at the house,” Mark says.

Waverly nods, composing herself. “Yes, let’s talk about it.”

“So how was it? What was your experience like?”

“It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life,” Waverly begins, “If not stressful at some points. For obvious reasons.”

“So in the end, was it an easy choice?” Mark asks seriously.

Waverly sighs and shakes her head. “It’s never easy to make the decision to hurt people.” Waverly looks over at Champ and B-train. “I met these two amazing men along the way and I didn’t want to hurt them, I did care about them. But...I had to listen to my heart and...my heart said to choose Nicole.”

The audience applauds and Waverly smiles at the camera.

“Well, how about we check out a little package we put together of you two?” Mark says with a smile before turning to the audience. “Would you all like to see it?”

They cheer.

The main title graphic comes up before fading into a shot of Nicole riding Whiskey across the field.

Cut to Waverly’s interview. “So, I met the ranch owner today and...wow.”

Her interview continues over shots of Nicole doing various things around the ranch. Fixing a fence, feeding some chickens, baling hay, petting a horse.

“She’s just...she’s interesting. You know? She feels mysterious and...I kinda like that.”

The camera cuts to a shot of Waverly walking up to the fence that Nicole is fixing. They smile at each other and Nicole looks vaguely uncomfortable. Her eyes dart to the camera every now and then.

“Hey, you,” Waverly says as she leans on the fence, pressing her cleavage together to be more obvious in her low cut shirt. Nicole’s eyes dart down to her shirt and she blushes. The audience laughs.

“Howdy,” Nicole says tipping her hat and stepping away from where she is working. “How are you today?”

“Good,” Waverly says with a wide smile. Nicole visibly relaxes a little bit and puts one foot on one of the slats of the fence, leaning on her knee in a cocky way. The audience goes ‘wooooo’ and we cut to Waverly sitting on Nicole’s horse with her. They’re riding with the sun rising in the background, both in conversation but nothing can be heard.

We hear Nicole’s interview start. “Waverly is...something special.” Cut back to Nicole sitting, hands fidgeting awkwardly in her lap. “I just...kinda wish she wasn’t on a dating show.”

The audience goes ‘aw’ sympathetically as we cut to a shot of Nicole looking dejected as she watches Chad kiss Waverly on a date. The camera cuts to shots of Waverly and Nicole just walking along the property. Along the stream, through the woods, sitting on a fence together. All very romantic.

Finally we see their first kiss as Nicole helps Waverly down from Daisy. The audience cheers louder than ever. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” Nicole says in another interview.

Cut to Waverly’s interview where she’s beaming. “I just...we have a connection that I haven’t been able to make with anyone else. She’s kind and gentle and-” Waverly sighs. “I could see myself spending the rest of my life with her.”

We cut back to Nicole’s interview where she’s smiling shyly, dimples popping. “I know she has a bunch of guys courting her and...my chances are low but...I just want Waverly to be happy.”

The audience coos again right before we cut back to Waverly running dramatically in a field, sun setting in the background. We see Nicole propose again and the audience goes wild before cutting back to Waverly on the stage. She’s smiling impossibly wide.

“I see it all worked out for you!” Mark says as Waverly nods.

“It did! It’s like a dream.”

“Waverly, when was the last time you saw Nicole?” Mark asks.

Waverly’s smile falters a little. “Well, we were only allowed to see each other once while the season was airing so...about two months ago?”

“I bet you miss her,” Mark says.

Waverly nods. “I miss her so much.”

“Are you ready to see her?”

“Yes!” Waverly says as she claps her hands excitedly.

Mark beams. “Let’s bring her out!”

The camera cuts to the same gold curtain that Waverly came out of as the crowd cheers. Nothing happens for a moment before the curtains are pulled aside and Nicole comes out. Her hair hangs loosely around her face and she has a nice button up shirt on with a tie and jacket. She looks nervous when she sees the audience. Someone throws a bra onto the stage and she catches it without realizing what it is. She looks at it for a second before dropping it in surprise, face a bright red as she walks towards Waverly. 

Waverly stands up and runs towards Nicole, jumping into her arms so that Nicole catches her. They kiss and the audience goes crazy. They keep kissing, smiles apparent on their faces until they finally pull away, faces in each other’s necks.

You can hear their muffled audio through their microphones. “I missed you,” Waverly whispers.

“I missed you so much, baby,” Nicole says before they start kissing again. 

The camera cuts to the guys, all looking a little disgruntled. The camera lingers on Champ who looks completely pissed and red in the face. Wynonna is clapping but looking awkward.

The two finally pull apart, still smiling at each other as they walk hand in hand to the seats. Mark smiles, looking between the two for a moment.

“Wow,” he says, “you are both glowing.”

The audience cheers and Nicole ducks her head while Waverly nods. 

“I just...I’m so happy to see her again,” Waverly says looking over at Nicole who smiles back at her.

“So...you two were definitely the unexpected romance of the season. To say the least,” Mark says. “But Canada really fell in love with you.”

“How could you not fall in love with Nicole? I mean, have you seen her?” Waverly says looking at Nicole affectionately. Nicole rolls her eyes playfully and shakes her head.

“More like look at you, darlin’,” Nicole drawls softly. The audience swoons.

Mark laughs. “You two could really give anyone a cavity. Well, there’s no doubt you really had a hot and heavy romance on screen. Now that you’re offscreen, have there been anymore wedding plans made?”

“Not quite,” Waverly said looking at Nicole. “Since we haven’t been able to see each other except for once and...we were otherwise occupied-” the audience goes ‘woooooo’, “-we’ve decided to wait until we could plan everything together.”

“What are you looking forward to the most, Nicole?” Mark asks.

Nicole manages to look away from Waverly, their hands firmly clasped in her lap. “Mostly I’m just looking forward to spending the rest of my life with Waverly. As my wife.”

The audience coos.

“Now, Nicole, you were married before,” Mark starts, “Does that affect your relationship with Waverly at all?”

Nicole shakes her head. “Not at all. It’s my past, everyone has a history. We’ve been very open about it and any possible insecurities we might have because of it and-...yeah. It’s all great. It doesn’t affect us negatively at all. If anything it’s helped us grow as a couple.”

The audience cheers again but the camera lands on Champ.

“[ _Beeeeeeeeep_ ],” he says with a roll of his eyes. He shakes his head. “How could you choose her, Waverly?”

The camera pans to Waverly who looks shocked. B-train tries to calm Champ and speaks to him quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Dude-”

“Don’t ‘dude’ me,” Champ said, shrugging off B-train’s hand. He stands up suddenly and points towards Waverly from across the stage. “What we had was special. You said so yourself. And you throw it all away for what? This cheating [ _bleep_ ]?”

Waverly shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Champ, I didn’t mean to-”

Champ scoffs as he interrupts. “Yeah right. She just spent her time sneaking into your room and [ _beep_ ]ing you to trick you into choosing her over me!”

B-train stands up and stands in front of Champ. “Bro, now is not the time-”

“It is the time,” Champ says, pushing B-train out of the way and marching over to where Waverly is. Just as he goes to reach for her arm, Nicole stands and punches him right in the dick. He falls to his knees with a groan and the audience goes ‘ooooo’ right before they start to applaud. Security runs out on the stage and gets Champ around the arms, lifting him up and carrying him off the stage.

Waverly is standing shocked with her hand over her mouth while Nicole puts her arm around her. 

“Are you okay?” Nicole asks softly.

Mark looks just as shocked as Waverly, not sure what to do. Wynonna is laughing her ass off, barely able to breathe as she wipes tears away from her cheeks. 

“I like Haught stuff already,” she says between laughs.

The camera pans back to where Waverly is holding Nicole’s face in her hands and shaking her head. “You shouldn’t have done that-”

“He was going to touch you. Hurt you,” Nicole says.

“My brave baby,” Waverly whispers with a smitten smile.

Nicole shrugs. “I just punched him in the junk.”

“On national television,” Waverly reminds her before kissing her again. 

The camera cuts back to Mark who blinks at the camera, smile on his face. “On that note, we have to take a break folks. We’ll be right back after these messages!”

***

“We don’t have much time,” Waverly said as she pulled Nicole through the backstage area towards her dressing room.

“Waverly,” Nicole said as she tries to keep up, both of them weaving through crew members walking past them. “Where are we going?”

Waverly didn’t answer, instead she dragged Nicole into her dressing room and quickly clicked the lock closed. As soon as the door was locked, Waverly couldn’t wait anymore. She pulled Nicole forward by her tie and their lips crashed together. Nicole moaned into the kiss, her hands finding Waverly’s hips and pulling their bodies flush together. Just feeling Nicole’s curves on her own again made Waverly weak in the knees.

“God I missed you so much,” Waverly said between kisses as she slowly walked Nicole back towards the vanity. They stopped when Nicole hit the furniture, Waverly’s fingers already working at Nicole’s shirt buttons, tie already loose around her neck. Nicole pulled away, holding Waverly away a little bit.

In the back of her mind, Waverly thought about her makeup and particularly her lipstick that she was sure would be ruined after this. But didn’t mind.

“Babe-...baby, how much time do we have?” Nicole panted. Waverly growled in frustration at being pushed away and began kissing across Nicole’s chest as more and more skin was exposed to her hungry mouth.

“Fifteen minutes, more than enough time,” Waverly said, smoothing her hands up Nicole’s stomach and chest, stopping only to squeeze at her breasts. _Fuck_ she wished she had time to fully appreciate her fiance. But two _months_ they had kept them apart. And after watching Nicole walk out in that outfit and seeing her punch Champ...Waverly could hardly stand the pounding between her legs anymore. 

She needed Nicole. Now.

There was no way she was going to make it through the last segment of the show without some relief.

Nicole leaned back against the vanity as Waverly kissed over her bra, lips dragging over the hardened nipple she could feel through the fabric. Nicole moaned, hands reaching behind Waverly and tugging down the zipper of her tight dress.

Waverly pulled her arms out of it, the dress only falling to her hips, but Nicole didn’t seem to mind as she pulled Waverly between her legs and began kissing down her neck. Nicole’s teeth scraped against her pulsepoint and Waverly pressed her hips into Nicole as she pulled at the button and zipper of her slacks.

“Waves, baby-” Nicole started. But Waverly cut her off by pulling her bottom lip between her teeth and sucking on it briefly. Nicole’s eyes were dark, lips swollen as she looked at her. It just made Waverly want her even more.

“Nicky, I need to have you,” Waverly said as she tugged Nicole’s slacks past her hips until they stopped mid-thigh, exposing the boyshorts Waverly loved so much. “Please.”

Nicole nodded and Waverly kissed her again, cupping her over her underwear. They both groaned. Waverly could feel the heat radiating from Nicole’s core, the crotch of her panties practically soaked as she pressed the pads of her fingers to the source. Nicole’s hips jolted into Waverly’s hand and she smiled as she kissed down the taller woman’s neck and chest.

Waverly sunk to her knees, not missing the way Nicole gasped at the action. Hooking her fingers into Nicole’s boy shorts, she dragged them down as she slowly kissed low across Nicole’s hips. She could hear Nicole’s breath quicken, fingers tightening on the edge of the vanity.

Waverly made sure to look up at Nicole as she ran her tongue through her sex for the first time in months. She couldn’t help but moan, the taste of Nicole flooding her mouth. The way Nicole looked down at her, watching as she swirled her tongue around her swollen clit with eyes dark...Waverly felt a gush of wetness between her own thighs.

“Fuck, Waves,” Nicole said, head tipping back and pale throat bobbing. She wanted to lick and bite at it but her mouth was currently occupied between Nicole’s legs and she certainly wasn’t going to complain about that. Her eyes darted briefly to the clock on the wall and she tightened her grip on Nicole’s thighs, feeling the firm flesh flex under her fingers as she dipped her tongue into her entrance briefly.

“Holy-,” Nicole’s hips jerked forward and Waverly doubled her efforts, sucking Nicole’s clit into her mouth and flicking her tongue across the tip. One of Nicole’s hands flew to her hair, pushing lightly on the back of her skull as her chest heaved and hips moved. The action just made Waverly groan right into Nicole’s sex. Her own fingers tightened on Nicole’s thighs as Nicole’s nails scratched bluntly at the back of her skull. It send chills down her spine, heat curling in her belly as her sex pounded with arousal.

There was a loud knock at the door and Nicole tugged a little on Waverly’s hair to get her to stop but she just dipped her tongue into her dripping entrance again. Nicole groaned and the knocking got louder.

“W-waves,” Nicole tried, “baby-”

Waverly pulled back just enough to talk, panting. “I haven’t seen you in two months. I’m going to finish getting you off.”

With that, Waverly sucked Nicole’s aching clit back into her mouth with a moan. The knocking, however, got more insistent.

“Waverly!” Wynonna said through the wood of the door. “Open up!”

Nicole’s eyes went wide but Waverly continued, using a finger to circle Nicole’s slick entrance as her head bobbed. 

“B-babe, maybe we should-”

Waverly slowly sank her finger into Nicole, groaning when the hot, wet heat enveloped her. She could already feel Nicole’s walls fluttering around her as she curled her finger to hit the spot she knew would make Nicole come. Nicole’s hand tightened in her hair, urging her on, hips still pressing insistently into Waverly’s face as Nicole tried to seek her own pleasure with Waverly’s mouth. Having her usually gentle fiance be rough and consistent with her made Waverly want to melt.

Waverly swirled her tongue around Nicole’s clit while she sucked harshly and her walls collapsed around her fingers. Nicole bit the side of her hand as she came, muffled scream dying on her lips as her hips jerked into Waverly’s face and her chin became coated in her come. Waverly slowed her movements as she coaxed Nicole through her orgasm before Nicole collapsed back against the vanity, chest heaving and flushed. Her hand fell from Waverly’s hair, and she placed one final kiss on her quivering sex. 

Nicole moaned, face dazed as Waverly kissed back up her stomach and chest to kiss her lips again. The redhead smiled dopily as Waverly pulled away with a smirk.

“I really really missed you,” Nicole whispered, voice deep and sexy in a way that made Waverly want to get on her knees again if Nicole would keep talking to her like that. She leaned forward to kiss her again when-

“Waves! Jesus!” Wynonna said.

Waverly growled in frustration and pecked Nicole’s lips one last time before marching over to the door. She ran a hand through her hair, wiped off her mouth and held her dress up against her chest before opening the door a crack.

“Can I help you?” Waverly asked, eyebrow quirked.

Wynonna frowned and leaned forward with a sniff before wrinkling her nose in disgust. “Oh, jeez, baby girl, your breath smells like puss-”

“What do you want, Wynonna?” Waverly said, cutting her sister off quickly with a blush. Wynonna rolled her eyes. 

“I’m just trying to help, you know,” she said.

“Then come out with it already!”

Wynonna shouted, “Hey, Haught...you alive in there?”

“Hey, Wynonna,” Nicole sighed, drawl deeper than usual. 

Waverly glared. “What do you need, Wynonna?”

“They wanted me to give you your ten minute warning,” Wynonna said, eyebrow raised. “So if you’re done fucking Haught-”

“Goodbye, Wynonna!” Waverly said before closing the door in her face. She heard Wynonna stomp away before turning back to Nicole who was still leaning against the vanity. Waverly wished she could take a picture of the sight before her. Nicole, hair wonderfully tousled with her shirt open and tie hanging loose around her neck, face and chest flushed as her toned stomach moved with every breath, pants and boyshorts around her knees as she looked at Waverly with dark eyes and swollen lips.

“Come’re,” Nicole said, voice cracking. 

Waverly obeyed immediately, crossing the short distance until she was pressed up against Nicole again. She gasped in surprise when Nicole flipped them, Waverly’s back pressed against the vanity as Nicole looked down at her.

“Ten minutes?” Nicole said as she licked across Waverly’s jawline to her earlobe, making her shiver.

“Yeah,” Waverly breathed, tipping her head to the side so Nicole had more access. 

“Perfect,” Nicole said, hands firm on Waverly’s hips as she flipped her around so that she was facing the vanity. Waverly’s breath hitched, eyes dark as she looked into the mirror at Nicole who swept her long brown hair to the side to kiss her shoulder blade. “Is this okay, baby?”

“Oh, god, yes,” Waverly said pressing her ass back into Nicole’s crotch. She groaned and bit down on the flesh of Waverly’s shoulder, making her moan. One of Nicole’s hands slipped under Waverly’s skirt, pushing it up as her hand stroked the inside of her thighs. Waverly’s head dropped forward, elbows resting on the vanity as she spread her legs for Nicole. She was sure the whole thing looked completely depraved but she didn’t care. She had needed Nicole for weeks. Waverly could only give herself so much relief when her body ached for Nicole’s touch. And now she was finally getting it.

“Please, Nicky,” Waverly said, looking over her shoulder at Nicole. “I’m so wet for you. Just fuck me.”

Nicole pressed her hips into Waverly as she stroked her through her panties. Waverly whimpered and dropped her head again. Her nerves were on end, already overstimulated as Nicole kissed across her bare shoulders. Each touch of her lips felt like pure fire. 

Pulling her panties aside, Nicole’s long fingers found wetness immediately. Waverly whimpered and pushed back into Nicole’s fingers as they slipped through her folds. Nicole circled her clit briefly before sinking deep into her. Waverly mewled, back arching up and pressing her breasts harder into the vanity as Nicole started thrusting into her. She felt so full, so satisfied just to have Nicole in her again. But she needed more. Already stars were popping in front of her eyes as her nails scraped against the wood of the vanity for purchase. 

With her cheek pressed into the wood, she groaned. She reached blindly behind her and put her hand over Nicole’s on her hip. Nicole bent forward, the ends of her red hair tickling the sensitive skin of Waverly’s back. She kissed the side of Waverly’s neck, teeth scraping at her pulse point and making her push harder back into Nicole. 

Waverly scrambled to grab the back of Nicole’s neck as she hit a place inside her that made her body melt like lava at Nicole’s touch. Her hips were hitting the edge of the vanity so roughly that she was sure there would be bruises there but she really didn’t care. Just like she didn’t care that her moans were bouncing off of the thin walls of her dressing room. The vanity rocked and groaned, the not so subtle banging against the wall behind it probably tipping off everyone nearby to exactly what was happening in the dressing room. It certainly didn’t help that little mewls of pleasure had faded into loud moans as Waverly cursed and called Nicole’s name. 

She felt Nicole’s other hand reach around and rub tight circles around her clit and that’s when Waverly felt her entire body go rigid, hand clawing at the back of Nicole’s neck and probably leaving marks as Nicole bit into her shoulder blade. The pain quickly bled into more pleasure and made her come quickly after her first orgasm. 

A scream clawed it’s way from her throat as her hips thrashed against Nicole’s hand, moving and trying to smash her clit into Nicole’s palm as she rode out her orgasm.

She slowly came down to Earth, body slumped against the vanity as she caught her breath. Nicole was placing soft kisses over her back and neck as she came down from her high. Waverly whimpered when she felt Nicole pull out of her, hand slowly loosening from it’s grip behind Nicole’s neck.

Nicole pressed a soft kiss behind Waverly’s ear and she sighed, a slow and satisfied smile curling her lips.

“Nicky,” she whispered before turning her head to kiss Nicole deeply.

There was a light knock on the door and Jeremy’s familiar voice came through. “Five minute warning, you two!” his voice quieted and they heard him talk through his walkie. “Wayhaught has been alerted and is flying to set.”

“Five minutes,” Nicole reminded gently when Waverly tried to deepen the kiss even more after Nicole tried to pull away.

Waverly groaned and Nicole plucked a tissue from the box on the vanity, wiping off her hands before dropping it into the garbage.

“I don’t want to,” Waverly said as she slowly stood up and turned around, leaning back on the vanity as she watched Nicole pull up her pants and begin buttoning up her shirt. Waverly noticed her lipstick marks all over Nicole’s chest and watched as they disappeared as Nicole buttoned up her shirt. Waverly pouted at the sight and tugged on Nicole’s tie. “I don’t like this.”

Nicole smirked at Waverly as she tucked her shirt back into her pants and did them up. “Well, darlin’, I do believe there is an audience out there waiting for you.”

“Waiting for _us_ ,” Waverly corrected as she pulled Nicole closer and kissed her softly. Nicole chuckled against her lips and straightened her tie.

“But mostly you,” Nicole said with a wink. “Now come on, baby, the sooner we get this over with the sooner I get you all to myself for as long as I want.”

Waverly sighed and slipped her arms back in the sleeves of her dress, turning so that Nicole could zip up her dress. She got a proper look at herself in the mirror and cringed at her smudged lipstick and messed up hair. She cleaned off the smeared mess on her face with a wipe and redid her lipstick before running a hand through her hair. With one last kiss to the middle of Waverly’s back, Nicole zipped up her dress and tapped on her ass playfully. 

Nicole wrapped her arms around Waverly from behind one last time and Waverly squeezed her arm. 

“Let’s just ditch,” Waverly said with a shrug.

“Jeremy would hunt us down,” Nicole chuckled. “Let’s just go and get this over with. Okay, baby?”

Waverly hummed and turned around to run her hands through Nicole’s hair to fix the flyaway mess. She took a tissue and wiped the lipstick off of her face too before another knock came at the door.

“You guys...ready?” Jeremy asked awkwardly.

“Coming!” Nicole said.

Waverly wiggled her eyebrows and Nicole squeezed her lightly. “Pervert,” she whispered before kissing Waverly’s forehead. “Let’s go.”

Nicole tangled her fingers with Nicole’s and they headed back out to the masses.

***

Mark stands in front of a giant screen with a picture of Nicole and Waverly standing and looking at each other, faces close. He holds his arms out with a smile. “Alright, Canada, it’s time to say goodbye to the couple we all fell in love with this season.”

The camera pulls back and Nicole and Waverly are sitting on the same couch as before, both slightly blushed and just the barest bit disheveled. Waverly is holding Nicole’s arm against her chest and they’re both smiling at the camera.

“Waverly, Nicole...newly engaged,” Mark says as he sits across from them. “Any final words for the world?”

They look at each other briefly and Waverly finally speaks up. “Just to...believe in love. It may seem like all hope is lost but it’s...never lost. Sometimes it’s in the last place you expect. And it comes from the one you weren’t expecting.”

The audience goes ‘aaaw’ and Nicole leans forward and kisses Waverly briefly. “That was good, baby,” Nicole says, eyes big like a lovesick puppy.

Mark smiles. “God, I love you two. Just like the rest of the country. You two have always just felt...so genuine together. So what’s next?”

They shrug and Waverly nudges Nicole to speak up. “Well...I think we’re going to go back to the ranch-”

“Yeah right!” Wynonna shouts from her seat, pointing a finger gun at Nicole. Waverly blushes but Nicole just chuckles.

“-Wynonna is invited too.” Waverly throws Nicole a look that she shakes her head at. “But um...I think we’re just going to see what our life looks like...together.”

“Get a puppy,” Waverly says with a smile.

Nicole’s eyes are wide but she nods. “I...guess we’re getting a puppy.”

Mark laughs and nods at Nicole. “Good luck with that.” The audience laughs and Mark continues. “What are you looking forward to the most now that this is all over?”

Waverly leans into Nicole a little bit, their faces close. “I’m just looking forward to growing together and learning about all of Nicole’s little quirks.”

“I’m looking forward to...well what you said, starting out life together,” Nicole agrees softly. So softly the microphone can barely pick it up. They kiss briefly, the sound of Wynonna gagging just barely heard in the background.

“And,” Waverly says with a big smile, “I’m looking forward to going to Dollywood.” Nicole’s head tips back in laughter and the audience joins in. “She promised to take me to Dollywood, so we’re headed there right after the show.”

“That’s right, I did promise that,” Nicole says, pushing some hair behind her ear. “And I’ll take Waverly anywhere she wants as long as I get to be by her side.”

The audience does a big collective sigh, half the audience swooning. The camera cuts back to Mark.

“Well! That’s it, ladies and gentlemen. This has been one hell of a season. But we’ll see you on the next season of _The Bachelorette Canada!_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to yell at me, find me here [Twitter](https://twitter.com/bootsncatz) or here [Tumblr](http://bootz-n-catz.tumblr.com).


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